Mage
by Optimus Magnus
Summary: A story encorporating elements from the card game 'Magic: The Gathering' the only game to outsell Scrabble.  A bit long and the format may not be great either.


Mage part 1: Ice Can Melt  
  
Key; ********* = Change of location (Between Japan and Dominia) --------- = Flash back  
  
Author's notes: Okay lets get this straight: I own nothing used in here, names are probably from somewhere else so use them if you want. Red and Review  
  
  
  
Misato Katsuragi regarded her charges, Rei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari. She'd known Rei since she was a baby, when Rei was young, she had brown hair and blue eyes, but she needed contacts so she changed her eye colour to red and dyed her hair blue, oddly enough, it seemed to suit her more than her natural colours for either one of them, her parents were two of Misato's oldest friends. And now as she checked out her other charge, Misato came eye to eye with two orbs of light blue ice, they belonged to Shinji Ikari; he was the same age as Rei but for some reason, never spoke. He could hear but did not respond in any verbal fashion, he had no friends at all aside from Rei, and Misato would always tease Rei about the fact that if she liked strong silent types, then Shinji was perfect for her  
  
"So Rei, given any thought to what you're going to get your aunt and uncle for Christmas?" Misato asked, Rei nodded "I'm getting my aunt a bracelet and my uncle his favourite film on Media Disk" she said, satisfied with the answer, Misato again looked at Shinji, his father abandoned him when he was three and Rei's parents had died after being attacked by members of the Silverado gang in Hiroshima ten years ago, the police had looked into it but were to intimidated by the sheer numbers of the gang, the ratio of police to them was 1:15, so they didn't do much about it, so Rei was living with Misato and she enjoyed having Rei around because it was like having a little sister to tease, although with Shinji who came into her care a year after Rei did, it was like having a Juggernaut around, silent yet menacing, as far as she knew, Shinji had been trained in three martial arts: Aikido, Karate and Jujitsu, and although reluctant to admit it; she thought he was scary  
  
[How dumb is this, me, a grown woman, scared of a 15 year old boy, but the look on his face, its demonic] she thought, then Misato observed something she'd never seen before, Shinji was smiling, only slightly and almost unnoticeably at Rei as she chatted with her friend about someone called Kenji, Misato knew him as the high-school heart throb where Rei went, although he was cute, he was a bit of a jerk, she also saw Shinji clench his fist whenever Kenji's name was mentioned, she frowned [Is he, jealous?] she wondered, now in amusement.  
  
Rei got of the phone and went to the main room; she could smell Shinji's cooking when she got there, she smiled thankfully [Misato may be a great roommate and friend with a good salary, but she's a lousy cook] she thought, Rei had decided this many years ago after being sick for a week after eating Misato's curried spaghetti. Shinji had looked after her all that week, never failing to do anything she asked, he waited on her hand and foot without complaint, he even seemed happy to do it. When Rei had slipped in the shower and became unconscious she was very embarrassed when she found out, and when she woke up, she thought Misato had moved her but then she saw Shinji change out of wet clothes, she had realised that he had moved her and changed her clothes, but for some reason, she was comfortable with that, even, glad it was him because she and Misato knew that Shinji would not and could not hurt them, it was like he was her devotee. Rei's friends thought he was weird but Rei pouted at them and told them to leave him alone, she liked him, she didn't know why, maybe it was because he was like her family, the only member of her family in any sense that she could relate to in a few different ways, considering that her aunt and uncle couldn't look after her, they wanted to, but where they lived was to far from any kind of modernization, so they had arranged for Misato to look after her in the city that Rei knew, and she was happy to live with Misato (On the condition Misato didn't cook anyway), the only other 'friend' Shinji had was Pen-Pen, the group's pet warm water penguin, he was quite intelligent for a bird, he learned how to open cans and drink beer, open doors and have showers among things, he and Shinji neither liked or disliked each other, they just tolerated each other and were friendly, Pen- Pen liked Shinji because he could cook a decent meal and Shinji liked Pen- Pen because he liked the music Shinji listened to, Misato came home once and found them asleep with the strains of Beethoven's 9th in the back round, she had shivered, the 9th was a really strange piece of music, but most times they listened to old heavy rock and roll music, Guns 'N' Roses, Kiss and a bit of Black Sabbath. In the mornings, Rei was always creeping up on Shinji, but he had very good hearing and heard her and was always ready.  
  
Rei knew that he knew she was coming, but she still placed her arms around him "Smells nice Shinji" she said, not noticing that Shinji was again smiling, he was even blushing a bit, he nodded his thanks to her and she released him, Shinji was a little sad but as he could only do, he kept his own council, his mind screamed however [You should tell her how you feel Shinji, before she's Kenji's girlfriend] one part said to himself [I have a feeling that she'll be happier to be his girlfriend] another interjected as Rei sat down and waited for Misato so she could eat and leave, Misato finally surfaced from her room, or the 'Booze Hole' as Rei called it, any alcohol that went into that room, never came out again, Misato sat down and opened a beer and gulped half of it down in one go "YEEEHAAA, that is how you start a morning" she said, Rei finished eating while Shinji cleaned up [That habit of hers had got to stop, if it doesn't, she'll die a painful death at my hands so help me God] he decreed as he dried a dish and walked out of the door with Rei; the girl was met by her friends; Asuka and Hikari at the door, both moved back when Shinji appeared at the door, Rei teased Asuka, or Asuka the Hun as she was named around school, for being afraid of Shinji and although she would feverishly deny that to be true, it was, she was scared to death of that boy, he had a presence around him that scared people, even her but she also felt pity for him, never taking the opportunity to crack a joke, talk, sing, laugh or whistle or anything that involved the use of vocal cords. Class bored the crap out of the students at the junior high school, the old man teacher they had just droned on about WWIII and is repercussions on Japan, which was very small, the economy went to pot for a few years, but this was all well before they were born, most of the kids' parents didn't know what happened, and anyone who would have an idea on the subject was either senile or dead, their teacher is obviously the first of the two options, it drove Shinji more mad than anyone because he couldn't talk to someone, not even himself in a respect [This senile old fool is gonna drive me madder than MacBeth soon] he said to himself in frustration, then the sweet chime of freedom sounded and lunch began, then Kenji asked Rei out on a date, the girl accepted rather giddily, before Kenji left, a message popped up on his lap top If anything bad happens to her, your body will never be seen again it said, Shinji had programmed his computer to send the message thirty seconds after he stopped typing it, by then he had already left the room, and he used a blocker so Kenji couldn't get the sender's address.  
  
Rei, Asuka and Hikari burst into Misato's apartment all yelling and screaming excitedly about Rei's upcoming date, her first, so Asuka had decided to coach her in the ways of dating, "Basic rules. Rule 1; You should always choose things like a movie, or agree on one together, Rule 2; he pays for everything, and Rule 3; he should arrange transportation, I think Kenji's dad is some kind of businessman who owns a limousine, maybe he'll borrow that for this" she said, Misato listened in on this conversation with amusement, what she didn't like was the way Shinji was clenching and unclenching his hand, but she didn't miss the smile, she'd tease him once Rei was gone, although she did ask Asuka and Hikari to stay here until Rei got back from her date, it was already kosher with the parents of the other two girls for them to stay, Misato smiled as she thought about what Rei had told her yesterday "All the girls in our class say Shinji has a fantastic butt" having seen it herself a few times, Misato was inclined to agree. Rei's date arrived, as Asuka had predicted, his father's limo was waiting for her "So far he's getting top marks" Hikari said, no one noticed that Shinji had slipped out of the room to his bedroom, he wasn't going to come out until she was back here, safe and happy, he closed his eyes and went to sleep. Misato woke Shinji up; she was frantic, Shinji cocked his head to the left, his way of saying 'what's wrong' Misato bit her lip, "Rei's in hospital" she said, that was all she needed to say, Shinji got up, grabbed his wallet and jacket and headed out to Misato's car, Hikari and Asuka were waiting, Asuka studied Shinji's face as they walked, saying he was not happy would have been an under statement of the highest degree.  
  
Rei wondered where she was when she came around, her head was fuzzy and it hurt like hell, so did her left arm and all of her ribs, she wiggled her toes, this was good sign, she wasn't paralysed, but she still felt like crap, Rei tilted her head to one side, she could make out someone sitting in a chair, as her eyes focused it turned out to be Shinji, he was staring at her, it would normally unnerve a person to be the target of such an intense stare, but he wasn't angry, at least not with her [And what right has to be angry with me?] Rei thought indignantly but appreciated the concern he was showing, then she registered something else, his eyes were a little red and puffed, finding some strength, she spoke "Have you been crying?' she asked softly, he nodded and ran his hand through her hair, somehow it quelled the pain a little, Misato and the others had heard Rei's voice and came running "Are you alright?" Misato asked and threw her arms around Rei, but being careful not to hurt her, Asuka sat down "What happened?" Hikari asked, Rei looked away "He said he could drive, the limo driver was in the toilet so he offered to show me how good he was by driving around the block, I didn't notice that he'd gotten into the mini bar in the car, he must have been drunk, because he swerved to miss something that wasn't there and collided with a brick wall. I must have hit something because I blacked out," Rei finished explaining, sobbing apologies to Misato. Shinji walked out of the room and found a ward sheet; he found where Kenji was and went to his room. Kenji was sitting in a chair, he didn't notice Shinji come in, he heard Kenji muttering "Damn it, I was gonna try and get in bed with her, now I owe Tai and Kensuke money since I lost the bet, shit", this sent Shinji well beyond pissed, he strode over to Kenji, picked him up and punched him, hard. Kenji fell into the chair, Shinji began repeatedly punching him in the face, a nurse heard the whole fiasco and had to sedate Shinji to get him off Kenji, unfortunately Kenji had taken ten very strong and well placed hits to the face, before Shinji fell asleep from the sedative, he made plans [Tai and Kensuke are next] he vowed before he was out.  
  
Asuka was looking at Kenji's face, she smiled "I couldn't have done a better job myself, it's a pity the nurse found out before Shinji was able to work him over really well" she remarked, Kenji had a broken nose, fractured jaw and had lost four teeth from both the top and bottom jaws for Shinji's efforts, but it was the skill of how Shinji administered the injuries is what interested Asuka, he had inflicted the most amount of pain while keeping Kenji very much awake the entire time, Asuka was glad about that, Misato was still trying to work out why Shinji had gone ape-shit in the first place, Hikari didn't want to even try and work it out, Misato sat next to Rei weighing the facts up "He just went and beat him senseless, what could possibly make him do that, as nutty as he looks, Shinji is really docile most of the time, he may be miserable except when he's with or he's looking after you-" Misato stopped dead [Smiles at her, seems jealous of Kenji, was a little apprehensive about her date, I could tell by his behaviour, he had a face like thunder when we were coming here, he was the only one who never left Rei until she woke up, oh boy] she thought "Why didn't I see it before" Misato said under her breath, Rei looked at her "See what before?" she asked, Misato turned to Rei "If you were asked out by Hamato or Shinji, who would you pick?" Misato asked, Hikari looked at her "Her first date has been a total debacle, and you're going over hypothetical dates now" she said dumbfounded. Asuka however saw what lay beneath the question "Yeah come on Rei, who?" Asuka asked, her fingers crossed behind her back, Rei looked down and nervously played with her fingers "Shinji I suppose" she said, Hamato was a nice guy, not as rich as Kenji but a hell of a lot more sensible and smart, and not bad looking to boot, but Rei's choice surprised Hikari and even Misato a little bit, but not Asuka in the slightest, Asuka giggled at the very open mouths of her friends "I knew it" was all Asuka said and went for a drink.  
  
Rei was able to get up and walk around, she went to see Shinji, they gave him a really powerful sedative, Misato was still debating whether she should kill him or thank him when he got up, Rei sat down and tuned in the radio station that specialised in romantic songs, one had just ended, and the one starting up seemed appropriate as she'd heard it before:  
  
It's amazing how you can speak right into my heart  
  
Without saying a word, you can light up the dark Try as I may I can never explain What I feel when you don't say a thing  
  
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall You say it best, when you say nothing at all  
  
All day long I can hear people talking out loud But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd Try as they may, they can never define What's been said between your heart and mine  
  
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall You say it best, when you say nothing at all  
  
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall You say it best, when you say nothing at all  
  
The song ended on a kind of personal note to Rei when it came to Shinji, she could talk his ear off at home and he'd listen to everything she had to say and when she was upset, he spent time with her, he didn't have to tell her anything because she could read from his face, anything he wanted to say to her, and Rei always saw him when she was angry, he could listen and 'say' comforting things, she smiled ruefully "Speak right into my heart, I never noticed how true it was before" she said softly and kissed his forehead, Rei then saw a grinning Asuka in the doorway "How long have you been there?" Rei asked, suddenly very red, Asuka sniggered good naturedly "Long enough" she replied "I was wondering when you were going to wake up to the fact that he liked you, I mean you are his only real friend, Hikari and I don't mind him much, but we're still nervous around him, but you have known him for a very long time, almost half his life, I think he's harboured these feelings since 7th grade, I've seen the way he looks at you, and as much as you can deny it, I've caught you staring at him too" Asuka said, Misato heard this all going on and began to tease Rei a little bit on the subject "Oh my, Rei, who said gallantry was dead, I think our dear friend Shinji here has a soft spot for you after all, how do you feel about that?" she asked, Rei was going to answer when two police officers walked in, a man and a women "We are here to place Shinji Ikari under arrest for assault, assault and battery and assault occasioning actual bodily harm" the woman said, Shinji began to stir and come around, the man walked forward to put the cuffs on him, Shinji just stared right into his eyes, he fumbled for his wallet and handed it to them, it was obvious to see they were supposed to look at it, the woman opened it up and a truly interesting sight was before her.  
  
They were looking at an ID card, it wasn't any ordinary ID either, it bore a red logo made up of the word 'Nerv' and a maple leaf and the phrase 'Gods in his heaven, alls right with the world' printed going around the maple leaf. After several seconds of staring at it, the officers handed back the wallet and left, Shinji snorted and got off the bed and almost immediately collapsed from the after effects of his sedative, Misato tried to help him but he shirked her off, Rei knew better, his pride in being strong was one of few things he tried to maintain in his somewhat odd life "Shinji what did you just show them?" Misato asked, he handed her the wallet and she looked at the ID card. After a chat with the doctor about Rei's injuries, Misato drove Asuka and Hikari home, leaving Shinji at the hospital, when it got late, Shinji decided it was safe to help Rei; Shinji held his hand over her, a green field surrounded her "Regeneration" he whispered and the field became still and phased into her body, Rei woke up with a start, Shinji quickly left to go home. Rei leaned on her left arm, nothing happened; she blinked and squeezed up and down the limb [No pain, but it was smarting badly a few hours ago] she thought, very confused, and she touched her ribs experimentally [Same as my arm, no pain] now Rei was very confused, but still very tired so she went back to sleep. Next morning, Shinji came to see Rei; Asuka and Hikari were coming around after school and Misato was at work, he was smiling and looking around the ward; not a single soul, so he decided to let the cat out of the bag "Feeling better Rei?" he asked, Rei stared at him wide eyed and slack jawed "You can talk" she said "Only to those who I care about" he said, Rei thought for a few minutes before answering "Well, I am a little disappointed that you felt you couldn't talk to me before" she said "I almost lost my only friend, you never know how important and loved something is until you nearly loose it or loose it completely, I'm sorry it took me so long to realise I cared" he said, tears streaming down his face, Rei smiled and rubbed one away "So much for the silent thing" she joked.  
  
Shinji and Rei sat talking about things, mainly Shinji's life and how he felt about the whole ordeal he'd been through as a child, seeing his mother die and his father leaving him when he was three "Who took care of you before Misato did?' Rei asked, Shinji smiled, this was obviously a fonder memory "I was brought up by a man named Seero and his friend Urza, and it was Urza who taught me my craft and Seero taught me to fight, they were good friends and strong men" he said, Rei smiled as she had never seen Shinji so happy in all the time she'd known him and it was kind of, rewarding, then she thought about his words "What did you mean by 'your craft' when you mentioned Urza?" she asked, Shinji was about to answer when a P.A. system began blaring "Warning; armed gunmen have entered the building." the broadcast went dead with static and a large group of men carrying machine guns appeared "Everyone on the ground now!" the larger one yelled, everyone except Shinji complied "Are you hard of hearing kid, I said get down" the man repeated the message and stuck his gun underneath Shinji's chin, Shinji just smiled and curled his hand around as if a ball were in it. Rei watched in amazement as what appeared to be lightning gathered in his hands "What, what are you?" he asked as he drew away from Shinji "Lightning Blast" he yelled and hurled the lightning forward, everyone in the ward watched in horror as lightning coursed through the man's body, a sickening smell of burning flesh and hair filled the room, after a few more seconds, the burnt husk of the man fell to the ground, his 2nd threw a big package into the middle of the room as the police came in "Too late, in twenty seconds, this place goes up" he said, Shinji drew his hand back and a yellow ball formed, they all turned to look again "Shattering Pulse", again he yelled and the ball shot forward in a zigzag formation with lightning following it and it hit the bomb, and the bomb was destroyed, no bang, it was just destroyed, now the police were safe to tackle the men, but no one else could take their eyes of Shinji, who turned around and helped Rei up "That's what I meant" he said.  
  
It dawned on Shinji that the kind of thing he had just done was not normal, so he used a special spell to erase everyone except Rei's mind of what happened, although the terrorists still tried to take over the hospital, the police were already there so it was short lived, no one was able to explain the electrocuted body in the ward. Shinji and Rei were walking to school the next day and Shinji was telling her about the time that Seero stuck a drawing pin in Urza's boot and Urza had an Orc chase Seero around for a week; Rei was absolutely fascinated with the concept of his magic and wished to learn more about it, she had also decided to let the world know she liked Shinji and was practically welded to him when they walked through the gate, a small smile was on Shinji's face that went noticed by everyone, a few girls were looking oddly at Rei, Asuka and Hikari however thought it was nice to see Shinji smile, if not a little strange. It was the small break and Shinji was as usual sitting under a tree with his eyes closed, but the difference was he had a napping Rei in his lap; she had fallen asleep after eating her lunch and simply ended up in this position, Shinji did not know why, nor did he really care, as he ran his hands through Rei's hair, he opened an eye as Tai Shibata and Kensuke Aida, the school porn princes approached him [I have a bone to pick with them] he thought as they sauntered closer to him and the sleeping young woman in his lap, he readied a 'Lightning Bolt' spell just in case.  
  
The shorter one spoke first "Well, this is an interesting development my friend, I believe we won our bet with Kenji about him screwing her" Tai said, "You two" Shinji said quietly, stunning the two boys into silence, Shinji smoothly lifted Rei off him and put her head on his sweater and stood up "If I hear a single syllable from anyone about this disgusting bet around the school, I will come looking for you, and you know what happened to Kenji" he warned, Tai would have made a case about it when an alarm went off "ALERT, WILL ALL CIVILIONS REPORT TO THE SHEALTERS. A SPECIAL STATE OF EMERGANCY HAS BEEN DECLARED" an automated voice said very loudly, the two boys ran to the area mentioned, Rei woke up, "Shinji is that the shelter alarm?" she asked, "Yes, you should go. I have somewhere to be" he said, she looked at him questioningly, he ran a curved hand down her right cheek "I'll be fine, don't worry" he said and ran off in another direction to the shelters, Rei shrugged and ran after her friends to a shelter, praying Shinji would be as fine as he said he would be. In Nerv HQ, Ritsuko Akagi waited for Shinji to arrive; she was timing him on his response to the alarm, he arrived in record time "Well done Shinji, now we can get down to business, the US had requested that we show them Unit 01, so we depart for New York 2 in the morning, and for some unfathomable reason, you'll need to bring a friend with you, why not bring Rei, she's your friend" Ritsuko said, Shinji went red at this, a few of the techs that Shinji knew started giggling at him "Oh shut up Maya" he grumbled and walked out of the control room to go and pack for New York, and to find a way to convince Rei to come with him [This will be harder than beating Thanos] he thought as he made his way home, to pack, to Rei, he smiled at this thought.  
  
Misato and Rei were at home, the drill over; school was cancelled for the rest of the day so Rei went home, accompanied by Asuka who told Misato and showed her a photo that Toji had got of Rei sleeping on Shinji, Misato shot a very suggestive glance Shinji's way as he arrived "I knew it you cunning fox, you like Rei don't you?" she asked, Shinji walked past them "Yes" he replied, causing Asuka and Misato to stare slack jawed at him as he went to his room, Rei laughed "You knew he'd do that didn't you?' Misato asked, Rei smiled smugly and nodded "He speaks when required and openly only to those he trusts" she explained, a thud revived their attention of Shinji, he'd thrown a suitcase into the hallway "Ah Shinji, where are you going?" Asuka asked "New York 2, I would like Rei to come, I am required to bring someone with me, a friend, enough said" he answered and smiled at Rei, she was a little embarrassed at being the friend he wanted to come with him "Wait, why are you going to New York 2?" Misato asked; Shinji chucked her the official request paper "Evangelion pilot, what the hell is an Evangelion?" Asuka cried "An artificial biomechanical humanoid fighting machine, standing over thirty stories high with a weight of at least 3000 tonnes" he said dully, Misato looked over the sheet "I assume I can safely say that neither of you will be having some 'fun' while you are alone" she asked rhetorically, Rei blushed and looked indignantly at Misato "Hey, I resent that" she said, although this insinuation suddenly made Rei's knee's go weak, no one noticed that Shinji was shaking slightly, when no one was looking, he shoved a black suit bag into the other suitcase and closed it "I leave in a few hours, if you are coming Rei, you should pack now, you'll need Misato's permission, I do not as it is a government request that I go" Shinji said, Misato grumbled as she signed "No funny business and I mean it" she warned [Anyone would think you and Rei had already screwed] a voice in Shinji's head said [Get lost Barrin] Shinji said back and the voice shrunk away.  
  
Rei and Shinji arrived at the airport on the outskirts of Tokyo 3, Ritsuko and Hyuga were waiting for him "Aoba went ahead with Unit 1" Ritsuko said, ignoring Rei, Hyuga was more friendly "Hi, you must be Rei, Maya and I will be taking care of you and Shinji on the trip" he said and shook Rei's hand, Shinji shot Ritsuko a dark look [I should watch yourself doctor, one false move near Rei and I'll fry you] he thought as they boarded the plane, unconsciously moving closer to Rei as they walked to the cabin of the plane. The trip was quiet but not uneventful; it all started when Hyuga started running a book with the staff on the plane, and the odds were as follows:  
  
Hold her hand: 20-1 Hug her: 50-1 Kiss her: 1000-1  
  
The crew were chucking in money from all departments "How much in the pot now?" Maya asked "20 K" Makoto answered, up front Shinji was chuckling "What are you laughing at?" Rei asked, immediately suspicious that he was laughing at the ribbon in her hair "Hyuga is running a book on me" he said, but only so Rei could hear him "What's the criteria and the odds?" she asked, a little intrigued "I hold your hand at 20-1, hug you at 50-1 and kiss you at 1000-1, why?" he allowed an eyebrow to go up in interest "Why don't we give them something to talk about" she said and smiled deviously, Shinji's smile broadened "Urza and you would have been great friends" he said before he very softly and swiftly brought his lips to Rei's, not a quick peck like she was expecting, but a long lingering kiss, Rei made a noise and broke off, she was blushing under Shinji's smile as he ran a hand down her cheek "I think we may have overdone it" she said, Shinji turned around to the see the totally stunned faces of the plane crew and Nerv personnel, while Rei was happy even though she was blushing, Shinji just smiled and turned around "They'll be fine when we reach New York 2" he said, Rei sat down beside him, with no arm rest in the way, they could cuddle up to each other and while the two teens were oblivious to the utter shock they had caused, Ritsuko was not, it was her who put the one bet on them kissing and just pocketed 20 grand, as they walked off the plane and were greeted by a special U.S. envoy, Ritsuko was deep in thought [Will he pilot to protect her?] was the simple question burning in her head because originally, Shinji piloted Eva to be something to other people, now with this relationship that seemed to be blossoming between him and Rei [She may be the light in his life] was her final thought as the plane began it's ten hour trip.  
  
Four generals from a different country met them at the airport; General Marlin of the U.S., General Reno of France, General Wong of China and General Carson of the U.K., each one had a child with them; each one was about 15, two boys and two girls, generals Wong and Marlin's daughters made giggling noises when they saw Shinji, this made Rei a little jealous and she wrapped her arms around him as she walked, he cast a loving look her way, while Carson's son Jeff wolf-whistled at Rei, Shinji glared at him "Doctor Akagi, it is a pleasure to meet you again", General Wong extended her hand, Ritsuko shook it and she was introduced to the other three whom she had never met in all her travels "Everyone, this is Shinji Ikari, the pilot of Evangelion Unit 01" she said and pointed to Shinji, a smile on his face while Rei stood beside him "I thought you said he was a loner" General Reno said "Things change" Shinji answered softly, Carson raised an eyebrow "And you said he was mute" she said, Hyuga and Maya were chuckling in the background while the rest of the company stared and blinked, Rei stuck her tongue out at the other kids. As they walked, the generals' children whispered among themselves about the Japanese visitors "That Rei chick is something else" Jeff said, his compatriot Jean-Luc agreed "Elle est belle" he said {that means 'she is beautiful'}, although Karen; Marlin's kid, was wondering about something else and it wasn't Shinji himself "Hey, what do you think his sync-ratio is?" she asked Min, General Wong's daughter "I dunno, I don't speak Japanese so I can't ask him" Jean-Luc said "I can speak English" came a reply from Shinji, the two girls and their male counterparts stopped [There is more layers on him that there are on the earth's crust] Jeff thought as they continued walking.  
  
They arrived at a hotel where Ritsuko dropped a bombshell "Shinji and Rei will be sharing a room, as will Jeff and Min and Karen and Jean-Luc"; the last four children had known each other since they were very small, but Shinji and Rei had known each other only a couple of years, and no one was quite sure what stage their obvious relationship was at, Hyuga immediately had another book going, even the four generals put in "My money says they won't sleep together" Marlin said "My cash says the bed will be broken and the whipped cream is all gone tomorrow" Wong said, the bets flowed in; the total was about $700 U.S., the other pilots even threw in a few bucks. Rei and Shinji were unpacking their things; Rei was fuming over the fact that the general Wong said they'd engage in kinky sex, Shinji found the whole thing really funny, and Rei was chasing him trying to get him to stop, until it occurred to her that she'd never heard Shinji laugh before, it was a nice sound. Eventually she tackled him onto the couch and they sat in each other's arms for a few minutes, Ritsuko knocked on the door "Dinner you two" she said, smiling as she noticed their ruffled hair, she checked her watch [Not enough time, even for a quickie] she thought and followed them down to the dining rooms. Over a vast array of food, many things were discussed, from demonstrations to personal stories, Shinji and Rei spent most of their time eating, but Rei had struck up a friendship Min and Karen, it made Shinji a little jealous but understood she was an outgoing person and accepted it, but was forever casting glances at her. The next day, Rei snoring on the bed next to him woke Shinji up, he shook her to wake her up "What?" she mumbled and rolled over "You snore" he said and kissed her temple and went for a shower leaving a very happy Rei on her bed [Oh Shinji Ikari, you are so, calming on me] she thought and got up to have breakfast, Shinji returned to the bedroom area in a strange looking body suit, sky blue on the arms and legs with a white and blue body "What is that?" she asked, Shinji smiled "Come with me today and you'll find out" he said.  
  
Rei followed Shinji and Ritsuko with a look of total bewilderment on her face; they then drove to a large building in the city, after which the trio descended to the lowest depths of the area and she saw what appeared to be a large training and drill field, there were several large metal plates on the ground. After walking a great distance, Rei and Shinji parted ways, he was going to a gantry of some kind and she was an honoured guest at the command room, Shinji walked into the room and was confronted by a face belonging to Evangelion Unit 01, he smiled "Round 2" he said and sat in a chair, the chair was lifted into a large cylinder, the cylinder was sealed and lifted and placed in a cavity where the neck and spine met on the machine, it swivelled into the space and was sealed inside the giant machine. Rei sat on a chair in a large observation deck over looking an even larger room; it was at least forty stories high and had a diameter of about four kilometres "What do you use this room for?" she asked, then she remembered the conversation back at the apartment about something called an Evangelion [No way, he's a.], Rei's thoughts were interrupted when a black and white robot standing almost three quarters of the room's height appeared, it was holding an axe, a twin model appeared, only it was silver with black and white, a red one that was bright enough to blind in sunlight appeared; they were holding lances and a white one that reminded Rei of a vulture was the fourth one to file out of the door and it held a large hand gun, they were all marked with a number; the black one was Unit-03, the silver one was Unit-04, the red one was Unit 02 and the white one was Unit- 05 "Okay guys, take up the positions we set out for you. Your objective is simple: disable Unit-01as quickly as possible, okay?" Ritsuko asked "Okay" four familiar voices, replied [Those kids from the airport, Min and Karen and the two boys], again her thought was again interrupted by an Eva, this time a purple one emerging.  
  
"If those guys are in these four Evangelions, then that must be.], stopping in mid-thought "Shinji" she finished, the purple one was very beast-like in appearance and behaviour "Will he be okay?" she asked Ritsuko, very worried that the other four may hurt Shinji "Shinji will be fine, it's the others I'm worried about" she said dryly and sat down. Rei took a closer look at Unit-01; it had less armour than its opponents, while totally covered, it had thinner armour on the mid-section, arms and legs than its chest, the four Evangelions that held weapons were standing straight, while Shinji's Eva slouched forward, fingers ready to slash the nearest enemy, "GRRRR" this noise caused some shock to all the techs, Unit 1 had opened its mouth and growled at its adversaries "GO" Karen shouted and ran at Unit 1, her axe at the ready, and swung it at him with all the strength she could muster, Unit 1 flung up a hand to block the blade and kicked Unit 3 in the gut and kneed it in the face as it fell, Unit's 2 and 4 approached from two sides to strike double damage, Shinji paced himself [Come on] he thought, as the two units closed in he jumped and kicked them both in the face, knocking them unconscious, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, the last Eva fired off some rounds from his gun at Shinji, he turned "Deflect" he mumbled so no one heard him, the bullets ricocheted off a field. Shinji stood with his arms bent and hands at shoulder width, everyone watched in shock and fear as red energy the looked like fire began flowing from each hand to form a ball in front of him "Blaze" Shinji said and launched the ball towards Unit 5, melting the hand gun and disabling the Eva, Shinji's face appeared on the comm-nets of the other four Eva's "Your skills have improved vastly" he said and commanded the Eva to return to the dock, Karen got up "Where did that train come from?" she asked, woozy from being winded, Min got up in Unit 2 and rubbed her head "I forgot how hard these things could kick" she mumbled "I'll second that motion, shit he's good" he retorted "SWEET JESUS. WHAT HAPPENED TO JEFF?" Karen screamed, seeing the pile of slag that used to be his gun and the badly melted chest of Unit 5 "How?" Jean-Luc and Min asked, "Magic" was the soft reply from Rei, but the rest of the scientists in the control room said it was an A.T. field.  
  
Shinji exited the plug, his hands were still warm from the fire, he smiled and walked to the change room, turning the heads of a few techs as he did, Rei was waiting for him outside the change room "Is something wrong" he asked innocently, "Why did you use your magic?" she asked "I always react as if I am in danger of dying, it is a natural reflex when I am shot at" he said, Rei smiled and Shinji's heart melted under her gaze "Just don't get carried away and hurt them, promise me you won't hurt them" she said in a stern voice "I promise" he said and went to get changed, Karen and Min were giggling at Rei, Jeff and Jean-Luc were already in the change room "What's so funny?" Rei asked defensively "Him and you" Min said and continued to laugh, "Rei; is Shinji your boyfriend?" Karen asked bluntly, Rei turned a deep shade of crimson at the question, at that point, Shinji reappeared dressed in his clothes, and walked towards them, and was going to ask a question when the ground started to shake "What the hell?" someone cried out, in the pit of his stomach, Shinji felt something and ran to a window "No, it can't be" he said. In the command centre, Ritsuko was taking more scientific readings "It's a chrono-rip, a split in the space time continuum- " she was interrupted "IN ENGLISH PLEASE DOCTOR" general Wong bellowed "It's a portal to another dimension" she replied "My god, I didn't think such a thing existed" Hyuga said as he tried to find a way to shut it down, meanwhile Shinji, Rei and the other pilots were running to the launch bays "You four go on ahead, I need to get something" Shinji said, he turned down another corridor with a confused Rei behind him "Shinji, where are we going?" she asked, he stopped "There is another Eva unit here, unit 0, the safest place for you to be is inside it, there is a female suit like mine that will fit you so you can sit in the Eva comfortably, trust me" he said. Rei looked deep into the blue orbs that were his eyes and she remembered the first time she ever saw them:  
  
Flashback  
  
6-year-old Rei sat playing with her toy tiger, she was smiling as she made it stalk her zebra in the school sand pit "Grrr" she made her tiger growl as it went for the zebra, then a hand reached down and took the toys "Hey" Rei whined as the older boy took her toys "I like these toys" he said and started to walk off, when a boy Rei's age stood in front of the older one "What do you want?" he asked rudely, the other boy did not answer him, but as the older child began walking again, the younger one grabbed the bully's shoulder and squeezed it until he dropped the toys, the smaller boy picked up the two animal plush toys, released the bully and handed them back to Rei, she smiled brightly and giggled as the bully walked away scowling and sulking "Thank you" Rei said and took the toys and resumed playing "Would you like to play?" she asked as he turned away, the boy shook his head and sat down in the other sand pit and began building a pyramid. As the children were called into the school for a rest and lunch, Rei went up to a teacher "Miss Nakajima, who's that?" she queried, pointing to the boy who got her toys back for her "Shinji Ikari" she replied "So that's who Misato meant" she said and sat down, for the rest of the afternoon, she continued to watch him, wondering what the look on his face would be when he came to his new home and found she was living there too.  
  
End Flashback  
  
Rei smiled [He would always be there, when I was sad, he was there, he's asking me to trust him, so I will] she decided and spoke to him "Okay, lead on", Shinji grinned and took her to a change room "Here, get into this thing, when its on you, press the switch on the left wrist and the suit will contract around your body" he said and went to another room to swipe his card. Rei put the suit on and as she was instructed, pushed the button, she let out a small "Eeep" as it hissed and literally clung to her as a second skin, Shinji reappeared and Rei blushed, she liked him a lot and trusted him but this suit was a little tight for her liking "It's a lot more comfortable than wet clothes in the plug" he said and led her to the gantry he'd gone to, Rei stepped in and came face to face with a blue Eva, with a single eye on its head, she could see a white tube sticking out of it's neck "The plug is open, I'll help you get in but I'll have to run the activation sequence from here, it'll feel really weird at first, but do not think about moving the machine, these damn things run on thought" he explained as he helped her inside and closed the capsule. He ran to a terminal and activated the start up sequence and patched himself through to Rei via the radio link "Okay, I'm filling the plug now, try not to get excited, you cannot drown in this stuff, it's a silicon liquid rich in oxygen, deep sea divers use it" he said as an orange water like substance began filling the small plug, as Rei cautiously let some into her mouth, she made a shrewd observation [It tastes like blood], Rei gagged a little as it filled her lungs, outside, Shinji activated the purifiers and the plug became clear again, he punched in a few commands and out of interest, checked her sync-ratio, he raised an eyebrow [47%, not bad, maybe Ritsuko should enlist her] he thought dryly, as he punched up another Eva; Karen's "Karen, its Shinji. Listen, I put Rei in Unit 0, I need you to help her into the main gantry area; we're in auxiliary gantry 2, I can launch her to the test room, if you're there, you can carry her to the main area" he said "You deeply care about her, don't you?" she asked "Yes, please help me out here" he said, "I'll be there Shinji" she said [Okay, now to find out if this is what I think it is] he thought.  
  
Rei was getting nervous when Karen appeared on a screen "Rei, the Eva's going to start moving into the room you saw us all spar in today, I'll be there he help you move to the main gantry" she explained, Rei was about to speak when she felt the machine move, but not walking, it was being wheeled somewhere, after a minute or so, Rei came into contact with Karen who then supported Rei on her shoulder on the trip, she noticed Rei was getting increasingly confident with the Eva "Rei, think about walking" Karen said, Rei nervously complied and she was, albeit shakily, walking, Karen was impressed "Okay, really sharpen your thoughts" she instructed, Rei strained and strained and then it happened, she was walking perfectly on her own "Hey, I'm doing it" she said in delight and attempted to speed up, only to trip and fall down, Karen chuckled and helped her up "Let's try that another time" she said and helped her walk to the area. Shinji was outside and looking to the sky "So, they finally caused enough damage to this planet, now it is fusing with its closest relative; Dominia" he said and had to sprint back inside, he headed for his own Evangelion, the he stopped [Wait, that wasn't a fusion hole, it was a rift, they want something, The Evangelions] he thought and increased his pace as he resumed running. Ritsuko was still trying to analyse the rift, with no results "Other than it's a perfect balance of matter and anti-matter, we have no new data on the phenomenon" she reported to the joint-chiefs in Washington and the head of the JSSDF in Tokyo 2 "What is the status of our Eva pilots", the Chinese head of defence asked "All the pilots are in their Eva and safe" she said "Ma'am, I just got a reading on Unit 0, its not only active buts been moved from the sub-gantry to the main one, and it's even got a pilot" Hyuga said "He, that, idiot" she said and punched up Unit 0's screen "Hi Dr Akagi" Rei said, Ritsuko was beyond angry, Rei was wearing a plug suit and nerve links on her head, and her sync-ratio was 47.8% "I suppose Shinji put you there" she said, Rei nodded, Ritsuko was going to ask her why he did that, when a beam of light shot into the complex.  
  
Shinji was running his guts out, he had be in his Eva or he couldn't counter a spell that powerful, he reached the gantry and jumped in and was going to invoke the Counter Spell when the beam of light shone on all six Evangelions, all the pilots fell into unconsciousness and the Evas were literally sucked into the rift, leaving an incredibly shocked amount of Nerv personnel. And a very scared guardian; Misato had been linked via video-phone to the site and saw it all "WELL, WHAT ARE DOING, WAITING FOR AN ENGRAVED INVITATION. GET THEM THE HELL BACK!!" she screamed "It isn't that simple Miss Katsuragi, we don't even know if they're alive" Ritsuko snapped "If you don't get Rei and Shinji back, I will personally see to the removal of your head" Misato growled, Hyuga wasn't paying attention, his thoughts were squarely on the gorgeous woman on the screen [Wow, what a knock out] he thought.  
  
  
  
Mage part 2: The Guilds of Dominia  
  
  
  
The six Evas landed with a great crash on a mountain "Whoa, that was, something else" Min said "Amen to that" Jeff said, he looked around his entry plug, he noticed his energy counter said full but his cable wasn't connected "What's this all about, the battery says full but it was empty at the base and we haven't got our umbilical cords in" he said, a quick check on the other five Evas confirmed this "The air in this place contains energy, the Eva's have a system that will take energy from any source, we have unlimited mobility and periods of running time" Shinji said "How do you know that?" Jean-Luc asked and walked over to him "I SAID: HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?" he screamed and shook him, Rei and Karen went over to him "Calm down" Karen said sternly "Leave it" Rei added "Bah" he pushed them both away. Karen stayed standing but Rei fell down, Shinji picked Jean-Luc up by the neck and spoke very slowly and menacingly "Unless you want to be fed to a Yavimaya Wurm in these mountains, don't ever touch her again", his voice almost a growl "Shinji, I can fight my own battles" Rei said, Shinji bowed his head "Of course, sorry" he replied and dropped Jean-Luc, feeling kind of dejected. Jean-Luc was grumbling as he got up and, Min whacked him the back of the head "Curb your temper" she warned. Shinji had begun walking to the north, but if the group thought their trouble were over, they were very wrong, as they walked, a seventh booming noise was becoming louder and louder "What the hell is that?" Jeff asked aloud, the group stopped and looked around, Karen saw something off in the distance and zoomed in "Sweet Jesus" she said, causing the others to turn around and zoom in on the same thing "What is it?" Jeff asked, "A Colossus of Sardia, the main war machine of the Sardians, avoid it at all costs" Shinji warned "How do you know so much about this place?" Karen asked, Shinji looked around and saw some of Urza's territory, the Aurora Mountain no less "First we get to a safer area, over that mountain is territory that I know, come on, we'll get some food, some clothes and a place to stay there" he explained and began running to the area he pointed to, the others stood around in surprise "I don't like it, but we're going to have to trust him, he obviously knows the place, and if we follow him, we'll find out how and why" Jeff said and followed, Rei and Karen had already gone and reluctantly, Jean-Luc and Min followed.  
  
They found Shinji's Eva crouched down and its plug out; a large castle was a few feet from the Eva with a village surrounding it, after Karen helped Rei down from her plug and everyone got out, they walked to the castle gates and knocked on them, it was answered by a man wearing armour, he looked at them and then at some pictures on a wall "Hey, Soron, take these five to the Lords chambers" he bellowed to a man dressed in a similar armour "Okay. Follow me please" he said and led them up stairs and down corridors until a big door was before them "Just knock" the guard said and went back to his post "Well, why not" Min said and knocked on the big doors. The door opened to reveal a man about seven feet tall with broad shoulders, muscles as big as softballs, and a sword big enough to pick Unit 1's teeth with at his belt "Shinji, are these five your friends?" he asked in a deep booming voice "Has one of the girls got blue hair and red eyes?" he asked "Yes" the man replied "Okay, let them in Urza" he said, Rei's eyes widened [That was Urza, I wonder if Seero is here] she thought, they walked into a large room and saw Shinji sitting at a table with a large banquet before him "I was planning on eating alone, but now my old friend and you five are here, the evening will be much more pleasant" Urza said and offered them all a seat, Rei was still hiding her figure that the plug suit seemed willing to let others see "If you wish, in the rooms down the hall, there are some clothes that should fit you all, Shinji can take you, can't you?" he asked, smiling at the boy "You enjoy putting me on the spot don't you?" he asked, Urza nodded "Indeed, be a good friend and get them some clean cloths" he said and went to speak to another man, Shinji smiled and got up "This way" he said and led them to the rooms Urza spoke of, awaiting each of them was a tunic, pants, shoes and a robe like Shinji's, each tunic and pair of pants was a different colour; Rei's was dark purple, Jeff's was dark blue, Min's was red, Karen's was orange and Jean-Luc's was gold while each robe was white with a crest on the arms and a five coloured circles on the back, going clockwise they were; white, blue, black, red and green. After getting changed, the group were led back to the main dinning area "Okay Ikari, spill, how do know all about this place?" Jeff again demanded "It isn't easy to forget ones home" he replied.  
  
Even Rei was surprised to hear this "I lived here until I was 9, all those years I spent here where spent learning my craft and becoming a warrior, then I was sent back to earth, this is going to surprise you all, but I was born in 1800, I am 215 years old our time, I was abandoned by my dad, he was a Samurai and my mother is dead, time here passes slower than earth, but I believe that has been rectified now" he turned to look at the man whom Urza was speaking to earlier "Yes, time on earth and here flow at the same rate now" he said and laughed "I am Seero, I was the one who taught Shinji to fight" he said and took a bite of chicken on the plate. Rei was served the biggest bowl of soup she'd ever seen in her life, as the other five pilots ate, Shinji continued his story "I was wondering in a field outside my village and I came across a creature, that I later learned was a Pygmy Allosaurus, I followed it for a few metres until it disappeared, I sat down and began crying, then the cheeky little thing picked me up in its jaws and carried me to a cave and I blacked out. When I woke up, I was being looked after by a woman, her name was Jaya Ballard, Urza's daughter. As soon as I was able to read, Seero, Urza and occasionally Jaya would teach me to cast magic spells-" he was interrupted by a woman running into the chamber, she was an Ication scout, Icatia was an ally of Urza against the evil Necromancer Lim-Dul "Lord Urza; Moor Fiends of Lim-Dul are crossing your borders with an army of his Legions, they are led by a contingent of his personal High Guard" the woman said. Urza stood up, as did Shinji "Summon General Varchild to me at once, and have Jaya here as well, I need her to help these five children, Shinji can take care of himself, we may even need him" Urza said, "I beg your pardon sir, but our Eva's are more than capable of taking down such an army" Jeff said "Hold you tongue" Shinji hissed "You have no idea what you're dealing with. Lim- Dul is a very powerful Mage, if not the strongest of the Necromancer Guild, his magic is far beyond the Eva's capabilities, unless you can wield magic yourself", he said, before any more protest was made, the two people Urza had asked for had appeared, Jaya was in a robe like theirs, only the man who was obviously General Varchild who was dressed in armour, Urza looked upon them.  
  
After a silence, he spoke "It appears our friend Lim-Dul has made a move after our victory over his Thrull hordes at the Towers of Aliban last month, he has sent his Moor Fiends, Legions and has even graced us with a group of his High Guard, this is a great problem, the Skyknights are all in Sarpadia, and our Sandstone Warriors are battling the Rat plague he unleashed at The Weatherlight" he said, Jaya spoke "What about the Yotian Guard or the Dragon Paladins" she suggested "No, the Yotian Guard are all weary after the Towers battle, and the Dragon Paladins are very difficult to control" Urza replied "Well, we better do something fast, they're approaching the village" Rei said after looking out of a window. Jaya stepped forward "Allow me" she said and pointed her hand to the outskirts of the village "Wall Of Stone" she said, Rei and Min saw the very mountains glow red and disperse their energy, that solidified into the form of a ten foot high by four foot thick wall made of stone around the entire village "That will hold them for a while" Jaya said, Shinji sat with Seero "The Arkon Legionnaires?" he said hopefully "Yes, they might do the trick" Seero said and went a small globe in the middle of the room and placed his hand on it "Kovor, it's Seero, are you and your men up fit for battle?" he asked the leader of the Legionnaires "We've been ready and fit for a week, what's the force?" he asked, Seero turned to the scout "20 of Lim-Dul's High Guard, 100 Moor Fiends and 250 of his Legions" the scout said, Seero repeated this to Kovor "We'll be able to handle them, some Elven Riders are here to assist us" Kovor said, cries of victory and praise came from his men and the Elven Riders of Fyndhorn "Okay, Jaya and General Varchild will lead you into battle" Seero said and the communication stopped, Urza nodded "Good, it appears I will be babysitting this group then, Shinji, I would like you to go with them, Seero and I will look after them, I promise" he said, Shinji nodded and went to get into his plug suit again.  
  
Just then, Jaya informed them of a development "FATHER, 5 COLOSSUSS OF SARDIA ARE IN THE RANKS OF OUR ENEMY!!" she cried, Urza spun and looked out of his window, sure enough, a great creature like the one the pilots all saw earlier was approaching with a Juggernaut beside it "This changes the situation greatly" Seero said, Shinji reappeared in his plug suit "Are the Colossuses enchanted in any way?" he asked, Jaya closed her eyes and focused on the beast, as the other four had appeared "No" she said, Shinji turned to his fellow pilots "Who's up for a rumble?" he asked. They all stood, including Rei "Your not leaving me out" she said, Urza smiled proudly at these kids "You are all strong in will and heart, and that alone makes you immune to Lim-Dul's magic. Fight with honour and bravery" he said. The rest of the pilots got changed "Are you sure about this Rei?" he asked, she smiled at him and kissed him softly "Yeah, I hate being left out and if I'm with you, what can go wrong?' she asked. After the Arkon Legionnaires and the Elven Riders deployed against the ground troops, as the Juggernaut had destroyed the wall, Each Eva took one Colossus except Rei who was left with the Juggernaut, while each Eva bar Shinji and Rei used their Progressive knives, Rei just kicked and stepped on her target, eventually she picked it up and threw it as far as she could. Shinji decided to give the commander of this little boy scout troupe a surprise "Storm Seeker" he said, the forest behind the castle glowed like the mountains did when the wall was created and a large broad sword appeared in the sky and slammed into the ground sending a wave to the leader of this expedition, Kaervek, who suddenly felt 12 of his life energies drain away from him "Ikari, that meddlesome prodigy of Urza's, he has come back with six great war machines, they are more advanced than anything that moron Seero has ever made. I must tell Lord Lim-Dul" he decided and made himself return to the swamp ridden wastelands of Phyrexia, as soon as he left, the army he brought with him all disintegrated aside from the High Guards who fled with him back to their master Lim-Dul, supreme master of the dead and leader of the Necromancer Guild and sworn enemy of Urza, a disciple of Serra and her teachings of peace, although Urza was true to the Guild of Light, some of Serra's old allies were deserting them for a neutral standing in the war, making Urza's victories all the more great and important to the cause.  
  
In his castle made from the bones of his fallen enemies, on a throne of body parts, Lim-Dul sat and listened with great pleasure to the screams of terror and pain from his captives. By his side, his chief advisor, a Viashino named Varr turned to him "I thought you had to give them back alive?" he asked, confused, Lim-Dul allowed his evil smile to find its way to his dark face "Yes, but they never said I couldn't hack off a arm or a leg here and there, as long as they're still alive, the bargain still stands" he said in his low, demonic voice, Varr shrugged his shoulders and threw a leg onto the fire place in the throne room, the sickening smell of burning flesh wafted through the castle, when Kaervek stormed into the throne room and bowed before his master while the High Guard he hand taken with him resumed guarding their master "My liege lord Lim-Dul, I bring news of the armies of Urza" he said, Lim-Dul leaned down in his chair, the black robe he wore ruffling slightly, but his hood always kept his face hidden aside from his eyes which glowed blood red in the dark room, the shadows created by the fire flickering over his chin and mouth made him seem even more frightening, if such a thing were possible "What news Kaervek?' he asked softly, evil and disinterest drenching his words "They have six great war machines capable of destroying a Colossus of Sardia, in fact, five of them did just that during the battle, and one of them is used by Urza's prodigy" he told them, Lim-Dul and Varr went from not caring to deeply interested "That little brat is back, damn him", Lim-Dul slammed his grey fist into the arm of his chair as he spoke, the Thrulls that surrounded him as slaves all quivered in fear at the sound of their masters anger, they knew he often took it out on them even if they had nothing to do with it. Lim-Dul calmed down and looked to Kaervek and Varr "You two, out, I must think" he said and dismissed them with a wave of his hand and since both of them knew it was wise not to offer help to Lim-Dul in such matters unless he asked for it, because then he may assume you're waiting for him to make a mistake and kill him to take his place and he'd kill you in an instant, so they left and went to the tavern in the small town outside the castle.  
  
As they drank their ales, Varr and Kaervek discussed the battle "These machines are as big as a Colossus but ten times faster than a Elven Rider with wings, and that purple one is the worst, it is somehow under the control of Ikari and able to wield magic and to make matters worse, they're made of metal, not wood" Kaervek said and drank some more ale, Varr was sceptical "Are you sure they aren't some ancient elemental, I have heard of the Steel Elementals from Soldevian traders but I've never seen one, you sure it wasn't one of them?" he asked and bit into a large chunk of meat "No, they were all different and as I said, one was able to wield magic, it cannot be a creature or like you and I a mage, it's like a suit of armour" he said and proceeded to get very drunk on ale and mead, but Varr was curious about this and decided to call in a favour from his brother Veer, an assassin and spy by profession and complete psychopath by nature, Varr went to the messenger pigeon service next to the tavern, the Viashino lizard man dwarfed the little human who ran it, in other words, Varr wanted a freebie and no was an unacceptable answer "Send this message to my brother Veer in southern Sarpadia, Sut'Aqa province" he began, the trembling man got a quill pen and paper "Veer. Go to the House of Urza in the Aurora Mountains, find and kill the operators of Urza's six new war machines, one of them is Ikari. Kill him and anyone you've never seen in the archives or remember. Your brother Varr", Varr finished dictating the letter and read it to himself a few times and nodded "The fastest pigeon you have" he said gruffly and left the messenger's building, knowing that his brother would most likely spy and tell half of An-Havva about it before acting on the other part of the request [Oh well, even if he kills that brat Shinji, Lim-Dul will be pleased and I can finally set my father's soul at peace] he thought while looking a long burn scar on his arm, he had gotten it years ago when Lim-Dul was served by Salamar, his father, Shinji had broken into the small fort they were hiding in at the time:  
  
Flashback: 206 earth years ago  
  
The doors on the stronghold were being beaten with battering rams, and some large Wurms were bashing against it too, Salamar stood ready, his sons Varr and Veer behind him, though young, they were totally loyal to Lim-Dul and his Necromancer Guild, the High Guard stood ready with their scimitars, CRACK, CRASH, the doors bent inward and smashed to the ground, Elven warriors, and Serra Paladins rushed in to meet the force, although the High Guard were expected by the soldiers, the three Viashino warriors were not, and many fell under their swords and fists, until a young boy, only 8 or so, appeared at the doorway, he was floating with a bright white light around him and he held his arms out straight, eyes ablaze with fury not seen in over a millennia in Dominia, Lim-Dul stood with his own weapon, the Scythe of Death at the ready [I cannot win here, I am cut off from my reinforcements and there is a Dragon army on the way, Salamar, forgive me old friend, I will look after your sons, die for me and they shall avenge you] he thought as the boy advanced "LIGHTNING BLAST" the boy screamed at the top of his voice, as he spoke, six large tendrils of lightning shot towards Lim-Dul, but Varr jumped in front of them, but again before they hit, Salamar threw his older son out of its way, one tendril catching him on the arm while his father took the full blast.  
  
Urza watched from a vantage-point in the hills "Sir, General Varchild is demanding we pull out, Shinji's power is damaging our troops as well as Lim- Dul's" a young paladin said "Very well, I will come and calm the boy so we can leave" he said and ran to the stronghold. Varr clutched his bleeding and burnt arm, he was in agony bit did not show it; his brother was at their fathers body shaking him in an attempt to wake him. Lim-Dul threw a Terror spell at the beast that had crept up on his fallen advisors' sons and destroyed it, Urza appeared and spoke in Elvish to Shinji, he lost his glow and fell asleep, Varr got up and hissed "I'LL KILL YOU IKARI, YOU HEAR, I'LL KILL YOU" his voice was loud and strong, Lim-Dul smiled [If I can control the youngster's anger and hatred, he'll be a perfect replacement for his father] he thought and scooped up both boys in his teleportation spell "I'll see you again Urza" he vowed, Urza smiled dryly "I'll see you to the gates of the Underworld, flesh eater" he said and left the room as Lim-Dul left out the back with his two new disciples in hand [We'll bury your soul yet Necromancer] Urza thought as he helped a tired Shinji get home to rest  
  
End Flashback  
  
Varr scowled at the memory of Shinji killing his father and giving him this wound to constantly torment and remind him of that day "I swore then father that I would have me vengeance, and I will. Our lord's time of glory grows nearer by the day" he said to the sky, hoping his words would reach his father in Sauria: the Viashino heaven.  
  
************************************************************************ Japan  
  
Back in Tokyo 3, the scientists of Nerv and indeed half the world were at their wits end as to explain where the Evas and their pilots went and if it was possible, to bring them back; Misato, Asuka and Hikari had been allowed access to the Nerv building, they were sitting in a briefing room, looking at a recording of the event in New York 2, Hikari thought it was from a movie while Asuka said nothing and Misato wished she'd brought a six pack with her "Well how did Rei disappear" Misato asked "When the rift occurred, Shinji put her inside our spare Eva, Unit 0 for protection" she said, Misato crossed her arms "And Shinji?" she demanded "Before I say anything else Miss Katsuragi, there is something you should know, and I mean only you" Ritsuko said "Asuka, Hikari, out of here, go and see Mr. Hyuga and Miss. Ibuki for a while" she said, the two girls were only to glad to have a reason for leaving the room. Once the door was shut, Ritsuko took her glasses off "Misato, how much do you know about Shinji?" she asked "Only what's on file and the small bits and pieces Rei got out of him, why?" Misato asked in turn, unsure of where the conversation was leading "So you know he was abandoned by his father at age of 3 and in state care until he was 9 which is when he was adopted by you, right" she paused and waited for conformation from Misato, the woman nodded and Ritsuko continued "All of that was true aside from one thing, Shinji was found by Nerv when he was 9 and put into the system, but not until he was examined and do you know what we found out?" she asked seriously, "That he was underfed or something" Misato ventured sarcastically "No, we found out that Shinji is very special, his D.N.A. contains an unprecedented if not impossible amount of genetic knowledge and this is the most astonishing thing recorded by science in almost 20 years Misato; Shinji Ikari, is 215 years old, his blood and muscle density is a hundred times normal, which theoretically would allow him to have enough electricity charging through him to light up an entire city for a month, and I have proof" she said and turned on the video of Shinji's training session, making Misato even more shocked than she already was, "Anything to say?" Ritsuko asked, Misato looked up at her "I could use a beer" she said. ************************************************************************ Dominia  
  
Back at Urza's castle, a feast was in progress, Rei marvelled at Shinji and how he spoke first to Elves and then moved to speak to a living machine, smiling and drinking as he did so, Rei sipped her light ale, she shifted her eyes to see Jeff who was blind rip roaring drunk on beer and wine, dancing with an equally drunken Karen, a worried look made its way to Rei's face [What if they.] her thoughts were interrupted by Shinji wrapping his arms around her waist "Hi" he said softly, Rei deftly put her drink down and spun around in his grip to kiss him squarely on the lips "You did well out there, I don't think you need me to protect you anymore" Shinji said, Rei made a puppy dog face "Oh but I do, I need you to protect my heart" she countered and wrapped her arms around his neck "Is it safe to let those to hormone factories run wild, their parents will be angry if Karen come back pregnant by Jeff" Rei said, Shinji thought about this and called over two guards "If those two leave the main room, separate them or if they pass out, put them at opposite ends of the guest wing" he said, the guards smiled and nodded, Jean-Luc was taking some advice from an Elf on archery and knife usage and Min was sparing with a Yotian Soldier. While all this was going on, Shinji and Rei were sitting in front of the open fire in the great hall, both were mildly intoxicated but still in reasonable frames of mind when Shinji was hit by inspiration "Rei, come with me. I want to show you something," he said and got up, she was puzzled but curious so she followed, Seero and Urza noticed this "He's taking her to meet Blazewing, think she'll remember him?" Seero asked while Urza watched an Arkon Legionnaire flirt with Jaya, he was chuckling "If he's not careful, she'll cut his privates off with his own sword" Urza said and laughed, seconds later, a loud clang alerted them to Jaya and the now very sore and sorry young man, who was clutching his groin but no blood was present "Well, severed or bruised, small difference" Seero said as General Varchild convulsed in laughter. Outside the castle, Rei was led to a large building that served as a stable for the various beasts of war and burden in the Guild of Light, Rei noticed they were all well fed, especially the Elven horses, Shinji opened up the large doors at the back and led Rei in and she stopped and gasped.  
  
Lying on the ground in a large bed of hay, lay a Dragon, but what's more was between it's front legs was a baby Dragon, freshly hatched by Shinji's guess, their was also a baby Griffin and Wurm with the Dragon as well "Shinji, who is this?" she asked, Shinji smiled and petted the Dragon's flank "This is Blazewing, she is like a nurse mother for the babies creatures" he said as the Dragon sniffed him and after recognizing his scent nuzzled her head on his chest and made a low growl which could be construed as a purr if Blazewing were a cat, Rei scrutinized the beast, by her judgement, her body was about 15 feet long, the tail was 17 feet long and her neck and head added up to 14, so all in all the beast was 46 feet long, Rei edged closer to the babies, Blazewing lowered her head in front of Rei and growled, showing her teeth which were 10 inches long and very sharp, Rei froze as the Dragon sniffed her, it reared back confused [She smells like Shinji, but this cannot be so, she is a she, Shinji is a male, perhaps this is his mate] the old reptile passed this thought over in her head, she wasn't stupid despite what her looks and behaviour would've suggested, another sniff revealed she had a spell cast on her and further examination of the scent it was discovered that it was the smell Shinji gave off when he was happy, finally trusting the girl she moved her head and moved a leg so she cloud walk to the baby Griffin and pet it, the little creature squealed with delight as she tickled it's chin and rubbed it's stomach, Shinji asked Blazewing if the baby had been named yet, she shook her head "Would you like to name her?" the Dragon asked, stopping Rei fast, the Griffin let out an indignant cry as Rei stopped rubbing her belly "Um, okay" she paused for a minute and thought for a while and looked the baby over more closely, she noted her mane was red and trailed off into orange on the wings and body with a star shaped pattern on her forehead "Firestar, do you like that name little one?' she asked, the Griffin nodded and jumped into her lap, snuggled down and began purring contentedly, Rei suddenly realised she was tired and nearly fell down, Blazewing caught her with one of her giant wings and put her on a bed of hay with a blanket over her, she removed the baby Griffin, they grew to the size of a large tiger in 36 hours and it had been born a day ago. Rei asked Shinji to lay on the bed with her; he nervously got in beside her and put an arm around her waist before falling asleep. Blazewing and Firestar were never more than a few feet away from the sleeping teens.  
  
In the large trading town of Lya, in the Sut'Aqa province in southern Sarpadia, a large Viashino warrior was reading a message from Pyrexia, he smiled, his sharp teeth showing as he did, causing anyone smaller than he was to move away and avoid eye contact with him "Thanks Varr, I really needed this" he said and put the note in a pouch on his belt and began to walk out "Hey, you didn't pay for that round" a barman said, Veer hardly faulted as he spun around and threw a knife into the man's throat "Bite me" he muttered and resumed walking out, this time unchallenged, Veer made a bee line for the nearest weapons smith, Repentant Blacksmiths were the best, their metal was often of very high quality, unfortunately their were none of these men in Sut'Aqa, so he went to an ordinary weapons smith "What can I do for you?" the man asked "I need a sword, three daggers and a few throwing stars" he said "Okay, you have the specifications?" he asked, Veer removed a few pieces of paper from his pack and handed them to the smith, he looked at them for a few minutes "Okay, this'll take maybe 3 to 5 hours" he said and took the plans and went to this workshop, Veer nodded and left, he was going to buy supplies from the local merchant and maybe get himself a slave girl to pass the time until his weapons were done. He perused a fruit market and chose a few apples to take with him, as well as some grapes and mangos, Viashino males have a bit of a sweet tooth, and Veer was no exception, he paid for them and went to buy meat and bread, he bought four kilos of salted pork, two loaves of bread and three small bags of rice, after saddling up his Wind Drake and feeding it, his weapons were ready. He went to the blacksmith and got his gear and specs, Veer gave the sword a few experimental swings and one test cut on a log, it cleaved the log in two with no problems and was lighter than his old sword, he threw the stars and daggers at walls, each one lodging in place easily "Good steel, what is it?" he asked "Soldevi steel" he said, Veer raised an eyebrow "Good, I'll recommend you" he said and paid for his weapons, he even slipped in a bit extra, Soldevi steel was expensive. Veer went to his steed, placed his sword in its sheath, one dagger in each shoe and the third one and stars on his belt, got on his Dragon steed and left Sut'Aqa, it was almost first light.  
  
Rei awoke in the bed of hay she fell asleep in last night; she looked and saw Shinji beside her; both were covered by one on Blazewings' wings and a blanket, Rei caught sight of the Griffin, she opened an eye at Rei and jumped onto the makeshift bed and nuzzled her head in Rei's lap again "Firestar?" she asked the creature, it nodded and lay back down, Rei was shocked; Firestar had grown 200% bigger in just 12 hours "Unbelievable", Rei looked up at the voice and saw Urza and Jaya "This isn't what it looks like" Rei said "I know that, I'm just pleased. He really likes you Rei, I've never seen him that happy before" Jaya said, while Urza chuckled behind her, Blazewing turned an eye on them lazily "Hello Urza, hello Jaya" she said and began to move and allowed the (still small) baby Dragon and Wurm access to a trough of food, the Griffin was still sitting in Rei's lap, obviously content to stay there "Did Blazewing let you name her?" Jaya asked as her father fed the horses "Firestar" Rei said as Jaya stroked the Griffin's nose. It was at this point that Shinji decided to join the land of the living and woke up "Hey" he said, not noticing Jaya or Urza and caressed Rei's cheek, "Are we comfortable there little brother?" Jaya pipped up "Oh no, busted" he said and rolled his eyes at Jaya as she laughed at her brother's discomfort "Well, what are we doing today?" Rei asked as she and Shinji walked to the castle to shower and get changed into clean clothes "We can explore the village and countryside if you want" Shinji said "How romantic, a picnic by the lake and then dinner by candle light" Jaya said as she followed them "Are you stalking me or something?" he asked, she just giggled and went to her room "This is what its like to have a family Shinji" Rei said "Yes I know" he replied sourly. After having their showers, Rei and Shinji made their way to the main hall, four other hung over teenagers were there too "You two didn't wake up together did you?" Shinji asked bluntly, indicating Karen and Jeff as he spoke "Are you taking the piss?" Jeff asked and rubbed his head, "All I woke up with was a bloody headache" he said and drank some goats milk, no one at the stables had noticed, but Firestar had followed Rei inside the castle and to the hall, it saw her and padded up to her "Rrr, aahh yyy" she said, Rei turned, very exited because Firestar was trying to say her name "Rei, come, you can do it" she coaxed "Rei" Firestar said, perfectly now, as Rei hugged the beast, Jean-Luc looked on in an annoyed mood "I need a coffee" he muttered.  
  
Veer arrived in the township of An-Havva outside of Urza's castle and he needed to make contact with his brother's spy on the inside; Ihsan, one of the captains of the Serra Paladins in service to Urza [Baron Sengir must've really caught him with his pants down to get him to be our spy] he thought; under his brother Varr, their were 4 nobles who were incredibly powerful, three controlled areas Phyrexia. The main township was controlled by a Sengir Vampire named Zor, the control of Dwarves and other underground dwellers was Irini Sengir and the farms were governed by some old lady know affectionately as Grandmother Sengir, they all in turn reported to Baron Sengir who was the son of Grandmother Sengir, father to Irini Sengir and master to Zor and all Sengir Vampires, he is the strongest of Lim-Dul's generals. Veer went into the An-Havva Inn and sat down "What'll it be?" asked a waitress "Beer, good strong beer" Veer said, the waitress nodded and went to get Veer his drink, he sat quietly as a group of off duty Paladins came in, they were of the Serra persuasion, Veer sipped his beverage and looked at the drawn picture of Ihsan, he was the big tall one with captain stripes on his shoulders and chest; he was laughing loudly with his friends, then Veer decided to get his attention "Excuse me, I'm a visiting census taker, I need to speak with captain Ihsan, is he here?" Veer asked, a man stood "I am Ihsan, what do you want?" he asked, getting right to the point "I wish to ask you some questions, it should be done in private sir, they are rather personal at some point" he lied "Okay, guys; head back to the castle, tell General Varchild I'll be back shortly" Ihsan said to his men "Okay sir" his lieutenant said and led them out, Ihsan sat down "What are the questions?" he asked, Veer's face lit up, sipped his beer and leaned in close "My name is Veer, brother of Varr, advisor to Lim- Dul, master to Baron Sengir" Veer said, enjoying the shock and fear on Ihsan's face as he spoke, the tall mighty man suddenly became but a shadow of his former self, or as they called them in Dominia, a Shade "What does the Baron command?" he asked "Nothing, it is I who require information, but I am doing this under the instruction of my brother, and Lim-Dul ordered him to do it, and you an I both know what happens to people who disobey Lim- Dul" he said, leaving the traitorous Serra Paladin in a bad position.  
  
It was even worse than he may even know; Joven and Chandler, the two most famous thieves in An-Havva were at the Inn, they knew most of the Viashino by sight, and Veer was no exception, in fact he and his brother were fine examples of the rule "Hmm, I should think Urza would be interested to hear about this, what say you Joven?" his comedy loving friend asked him, the taller but less accomplished thief who was somewhat more grim than his friend nodded "Yes, I wonder if Joskun will let us see him?" he asked aloud as he sipped his ale while Chandler made passes at the waitresses, all he got for his troubles was a few slaps to the face, several rude gestures and even a threat of damnation from an Abby Matron who was in the bar preaching the evils of drink "Seriously Chandler, we should tell Joskun that Veer is in town, and if a scuzz-ball like him is talking to Ihsan; one of the most decorated and loyal soldier in the Serra Paladin guard of Urza, he needs to know this" Joven said as Chandler took on a serious expression, a rare thing for him to do as he was a fun loving and easy going guy "I agree, but what say we try and lighten Veer's load?" he asked, his dangerously laidback nature shinning through again "No, we go straight to Joskun and tell him to send Jaya; Ihsan would never lie to her, he respects her to much" Joven said "But what if he leaves when Joskun and the others arrive, they'll think we've fleeced them" Chandler pointed out, Joven smiled and got out two of his pet ferrets "Lore, Serray; follow the Viashino and do not loose him" Joven said to the two rodents, who scurried off to their target, one hid inside Veer's bag and the other went outside, following the lizard man's scent to a dragon steed, Lore hid inside the saddle bag. Chandler watched this in amusement "Okay. I guess we can go and see Joskun now?" he said, Joven nodded and paid for the drinks and left; Joven and Chandler stole from everyone and everything, except from the Inn; it was a refuge and a sanctuary so they always paid for any service they got there as a point of honour, chuckling as they saw Veer's sack move a little from Seeray moving around inside it, having had their fun; the pair went to see an old friend and adversary, Constable Joskun of An-Havva, knowing they maybe arrested on sight by their only pursuer who ever got them, Eron the Relentless having failed many times, but both knew if any of Varr's relatives were even asking for a cigarette from a Serra Paladin, they were in for trouble "Think he'll be happy to see us?" Joven asked "I hope so, it's been to long since I've had an argument with him" Chandler answered and they laughed all the way to the police station.  
  
Varr had dragged a drunken Kaervek back to his chambers in the castle, dumped him unceremoniously on the man's bed and shut the door, all in all his night had been pretty crap, and he'd gone to sleep thinking [My day had better brighten up] semi-annoyed. Varr woke up to have a servant Thrull give him a letter, he opened it and smiled; it was from Veer, it read;  
  
'Dear Brother  
  
I am in An-Havva, in the Aurora Mountains. I got some interesting information from a note from Baron Sengir when I spoke with him last; you never told me you had the famous Captain Ihsan in your pocket. He told me of six new arrivals and as you said, one is Urza's prodigy; Ikari and the six new war machines are really something, you can see them although they're standing in the courtyard from the base of Mount Adakar. The other five arrivals are not native to Dominia; they came from another dimension and that is also where the machines came from. I also know that half of them are women and one of them is Ikari's girl.  
  
Present this to Lim-Dul; kidnap the one Ikari loves and hold her to ransom. If he doesn't give us the Runesword and war machines and their pilots (aside from Ikari of course), we kill her. I can do that now if you want; Ihsan told me they were planning on walking around the township today.  
  
Veer'  
  
Varr was delighted, not only could they take Urza's most powerful weapons away from him, but they could make Ikari suffer the loss of a loved one [Just like me and Veer] he thought and allowed a big and evil smile to cross his face. Once he'd eaten and dressed in his armour, he went to the main hall, he would present Lim-Dul with the plan outlined by his brother, as he entered, he saw a knight of Tresshorn delivering a message to Lim-Dul "Lord, the king of Tresshorn does not accept your terms, he says you may come but the Keeper of Tresshorn shall stop you, and we have become converts to the Guild of Light and are afforded all the protection of Urza and Eva" he said, Lim-Dul was curious, what was Eva "Who, or what is Eva" he asked before Varr could as he came to stand behind his lord "Eva is the name of the machines who defeated you army in their attempt to capture An- Havva" he said and bowed, spun on his heel and left the castle with Lim-Dul in a rage [My day is not starting out well, oh well, this news will make him less volatile] Varr said as he turned to Lim-Dul "My lord, my brother is in An-Havva, he has spoken to Ihsan. We know of a way to get Ikari and the war machines known as Evas" Varr said proudly "HOW?" Lim-Dul demanded, "Something my brother found out was that one of the five humans that came with Ikari is his 'special friend' if you get my meaning sir. He suggests that we take her and demand the Evas and their pilots, except Ikari of course in exchange for her safe return or else" he said, Lim-Dul was very interested "How is going to get them?" he pressed Varr for information "They are all wandering around the village today and probably tomorrow too, so I can send him a message through my telepathy stone to tell him to take her now, unless you wish to send agents and do it tomorrow sire" he said "Send the message, have my Cohorts and Baron Sengir waiting for her with a Black Carriage at the borders of Tocasia and Kjeldor" he said. Varr went to his room and uncovered a red stone on a stand; he placed his hand on it and thought through it [Veer. It's Varr, get the girl, Lim-Dul's Cohorts and Baron Sengir will be waiting for you with a Black Carriage at the borders of Tocasia and Kjeldor. Return with them and leave a message to Ikari; Give us the Evas or the girl dies] he stopped, knowing his brother would get the message.  
  
Joven and Chandler were in the waiting room at the constables office in An- Havva, each one was wearing grim expressions; Constable Joskun looked at them through his window [Hmm, they came in of their free will with faces like thunder, I know them to well, there is something going on here and I intend to find out] he thought before opening the door and allowing them inside his office, Joven sat down on a chair while Chandler insolently leaned against the doorframe "Well, what brings to of the most skilled thieves in the province to my office looking grim?" he asked "Did you know that a Viashino is in town?" Joven asked "A few come through here every month or so, this one's probably a loner, why?" he asked in turn "It's Veer, Varr's kid brother and he was talking to captain Ihsan at the Inn about thirty minutes ago" Chandler said, Joskun took a more serious approach to this now "You're sure it was Veer, could it have been another one that looks like him?" he was praying the pair said yes "No. It was defiantly Veer, only Viashino I know that rides a Wind Drake" Joven said dryly "So what does captain Ihsan have to do with this?" Joskun was pressing them for as much information as possible, fortunately Chandler and Joven hated Lim-Dul and all his allies as much as Urza and were willing to spill the beans "We don't know but he seemed pretty dismayed, Veer may be big, but Ihsan could tear him in two no problems, the hold must come from further up in the chain, possibly his brother" Joven said, as Chandler stood and thought, he remembered that Ihsan had said 'Baron' but nothing else, no name or province that he heard "Does Lim-Dul have any barons in his domain?" Chandler asked, totally ignorant of Sengir's existence "You don't mean Baron Sengir do you?" he asked, totally dumbfounded "Maybe, I dunno, neither of us heard the rest of the conversation" Joven said, Joskun sat back in his chair [If Ihsan is under their control, we must bring in the Inquisitors and some Kjeldoran Royal Guard, they are incorruptible] Joskun thought his plan and spoke "Urza must know of this" he said and stood up ", And you two are gonna tell him" the smirking constable said "I knew you'd do something rotten to us in this affair" Chandler said but he and Joven went none the less.  
  
Shinji and Rei were sitting waiting for Min and Jeff to get dressed, Jean- Luc and Karen were already there, Firestar stood beside Rei in an almost protective pose, but would rub her head on Rei's leg occasionally, making a contented noise, Min was patting her as well, Firestar loved all the attention she got from them. Shinji however had the baby Dragon on his shoulder; it was about the size of a large eagle with grey scales, four arms, a powerful tail, large wings and a jaws that could rend steel "That thing looks like its made from metal" Jean-Luc said, he and the rest of the group had since gotten used to the sight of creatures once thought to only exist in legend "It is; this is commonly known as a Teeka's Dragon, Teeka is the name of the artificer who made him, his skin is metal, as are his teeth and winks but underneath he is very much a living breathing creature" he said and looked out of the castle at Unit 1, it was looking straight at him and appeared to be smiling at something, Shinji sighed [Just like you guys] he thought and turned back around as Jeff and Min arrived, "Okay, lets go" Rei said and they headed out of the door, leaving Firestar and Tek in the castle. Each child was dressed in their robes from the first night they'd stayed at the castle, they passed Joven and Chandler who were being led by constable Joskun "He catch you two with your hands in other peoples pockets again?" Shinji asked, Joven and Chandler said nothing and Joskun bowed his head, Shinji raised an eyebrow [Those two are always happy, even when they're being dragged in front of Urza, something bad must have happened] he thought as they walked down to the village. Urza was going over some expenses with Jaya and Seero when Joskun came in "Pardon the intrusion lord, but these two have something to tell you" Joskun said, bowing on one knee, Urza turned and saw the most famous thieves of all time before him "What'd you steal this time guys?" he asked, Joven stepped forward "Sir. Veer, brother of Varr is in the village of An-Havva, and you have a spy in your midst" he said, saying enough to grab the attention of all three of their listeners "WHAT?" Urza roared, "Who?" Jaya asked, "You may find this hard to believe my lady, but it is captain Ihsan of the Serra Paladins" answered Chandler "You lie thief" Seero said "I do not sir, there are several people who were at the Inn whom can confirm this, and ask his men who he went to the Inn with today if anything odd happened" Chandler retorted "If Veer was in this area, we would have heard about it" Jaya said, Joven smiled mirthlessly "Do all your men know one Viashino from another on sight, we do, and not many of them ride Wind Drakes, especially not one baring the mercenary crest of the Sut'Aqa area" Joven said, Urza looked at them [They are not lying, not this time] he thought "You swear, before me?" he asked, both thieves bowed on one knee "We swear before Serra herself and on the book of her teachings" they said in unison, Urza believed them, now all he had to do was get the rest of the information.  
  
"Okay, what else do you know?" Jaya asked, Chandler stepped forward "Veer is planning a kidnapping, I think he wants 'Ikari's girl', whoever that is" he said, Jaya's eyes widened "He means Rei, that slimy lizard is going to kidnap Rei" she said in an indignant manner, "I'm sure Shinji can take care of her" Urza said "Not if he uses her as a shield, which he will if he needs to, he'll take by force or separate the group and pick 'em off one by one" Joven said, Urza got up "Call the Serra Inquisitors and have King Darien send over his Kjeldoran Royal Guard, we need some neutral force in on this" he said, Seero went to speak with Darien over the Psi-Stone and Jaya went to the Office of the Inquisitors within the walls of the castle, this was an emergency that needed to be resolved now. In the village, the six pilots (Shinji and the others having accepted Rei as a pilot after the battle at the castle the night they arrived) were sampling the many sights of the village, most were expecting the dirty kind of village one saw in books on medieval Europe, but it was very clean and very nice to walk in "There is a mix of new and old here, the houses are all old but most carry a very crude by our standards, toilet" he said, eliciting chuckles and the guffaws from Jean-Luc and Jeff, Rei, Karen and Min all thought they were being stupid. Veer was in the street and watching them; several of Lim- Dul's agents in An-Havva were going to get the group apart, then he would grab the girl, Ihsan had said she was the one with blue hair, he'd be able to spot her a mile off and he did [Got you] he thought and signalled their action; a young man in a non-descript outfit was waiting by an Aurochs pen; his companion had been stirring the creatures up for a good fifteen minutes and they were seeing red now, the man smiled and opened the gates, allowing the Aurochs to run, trampling their way into An-Havva, and towards an unsuspecting group of friends. It was Rei who first heard the rumbling and saw the Aurochs and screamed, the others turned and when they saw these giant beasts galloping towards them at high speed, they scattered in all directions; Karen hit a pole and was knocked unconscious, Jeff and Jean-Luc jumped into a house and were buried beneath some tables and chairs, Min and Shinji both fell into a ditch, Shinji broke his left arm, Min suffered a fractured rib and mild concussion, Rei ducked behind a wall and was safe, until she turned and came face to face with Veer "You're coming with me girl" he said and punched her, knocking her out, he easily hefted her up and ran to his steed.  
  
Back at his steed, Lore, Joven's pet ferret was scrounging around for anything of value or importance, he and Serray were able to read so he was glancing his eyes over anything he found, he eventually found a map and piece of paper that outlined the plan given by Varr, and although Veer had it committed to memory, he often wrote these things down just in case, Lore picked them up and jumped out of the saddle bag, being careful not to rouse the sleeping Dragon and made a bee line for his master, knowing they would see Joskun and that Joskun would take them to Urza, the grinning ferret quickened it's pace and ran right past the Viashino; his sister Serray was still tailing the scumbag mercenary, Lore tried to quicken his already breakneck (for a ferret) speed after seeing an unconscious girl on Veer's shoulder, he was thinking [Must help her, she is an innocent] and that thought drove him further. After some herders got the Aurochs under control, a Knight of Stromglad helped Shinji and his friends to their feet, an Elvish Druid was summoned to help the injured, While Jeff was by Karen's side, Min was being helped by Jean-Luc because of her concussion, Shinji was running around trying to find Rei [Please god don't let anything of happened to her] he thought as he tried to find her, he was at his wits end until he felt a pull on his tunic, he looked down at the source; it was a ferret with paper in its mouth [Only two ferrets are smart enough to recognise me; Lore and Serray] he thought and picked up the animal in his one good arm, making a decision, Shinji ran to the castle, holding the ferret in his arms, doing something he'd done only once before; he cried. Joven and Chandler weren't surprised to see Shinji, but they were surprised to see his broken arm and Lore sitting on him, he put the ferret down very gently and turned to them, a ball of lightning in his hand "You two have some explaining to do" he said, Jaya came in then "SHINJI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she asked "It is no coincidence that after Aurochs get loose, Rei disappears and I get this from one of your ferrets Joven, now someone had better start explaining things and fast, or I will go straight to Pyrexia and kill Lim-Dul, whether he has Rei or not" he said, his threat empty for the pain in his eyes and small choking sobs in his throat, slowly the lightning subsided and he collapsed to the ground, Jaya caught him and asked for Chandler's help to move him upstairs "I'll say this, he definitely loves the girl, I've never seen him so angry" Jaya said, Urza was in the hall around the corner [And we know what happened last time he was this angry] he thought and looked at the sleeping Shinji, dreading the awakening of his true power a second time.  
  
*********************************************************************** Japan  
  
Misato and Asuka sat in the apartment shared by Shinji and Rei with Misato; Asuka had been staying with Misato since the disappearance of their respective friends [How can what she said be possible, how can Shinji be over 2 centuries old, and what was she talking about; a dimensional rift?] she thought, not noticing the way her hand was shaking around her beer can "Misato, your hand" Asuka said, pointing to the appendage in question "Its been doing that since I spoke to Dr. Akagi, oh God, Asuka. Are they coming back to us, or have we lost them forever?" she asked, not really expecting an answer but she got one "Oh we'll be seeing them again, Rei at least. Do you really believe that Shinji would let her remained trapped in another dimension, don't count on it. He'll bring her back, just have faith" Asuka said and drank her own drink, leaving Misato to ponder what she had just said [Asuka is either in shock or perfectly right in her statement about the whole ordeal. But there would be no compromise; Shinji and Rei would come back with each other or not at all] Misato calmed herself down and returned to her beer. At school, Hikari was busy telling Toji what was going on "No way, you're kidding me" were his only legible responses to the story, most parts were backed up by news reports in the city and thanks to some spin doctoring by Kensuke, his friends Kenji and Tai believed that Shinji and Rei were intimate while in New York 2. The first of the two friends was seething at the 'news' as it were "That slut. I'll get Shinji for this and then Rei will beg me to take her back" he declared to his two friends who always held him in awe because they found it harder to get a date and liked to listen to Kenji's stories of conquest as he called them. ************************************************************************ Dominia  
  
Rei woke up in a very cold area, she was in a sack with her head sticking out of one end and she bound at the arms, hands, feet and even her legs, she looked to her left and saw her captor, she remembered him vaguely "Where am I?" she asked "You're in the middle of nowhere girl, you've been kidnapped by the order of Lim-Dul, Necromancer and leader of the Necromancer Guild. Now shut up; a Black Carriage will be here in an hour to get us, then we're going to Phyrexia. That will take a day as we are at the borders of Kjeldor and Tocasia at the moment, be honoured, you get to meet Baron Sengir for her will be here to personally escort us to our land" the Viashino said in a raspy type of voice, sneering at Rei in the firelight as he spoke, making him look very dangerous, an appropriate visage, Rei lay down and faced away from Veer to try and rest. Veer fell asleep a few minutes later, seeing at as a chance to make her move, Serray padded over to Rei and made her presence known [Hello] she said, Rei stared at the creature [Surely it didn't just think at me] she tried to reason [Yes I did and I am a she thank you, my name is Serray. What's yours?], she asked "Rei" she replied [Keep your voice down, he has great hearing so think anything you want say or ask me] Serray said, Rei's brow furrowed in thought [Who is he?] she managed to ask [His name is Veer. His brother Varr is a military advisor to Lim-Dul, and if you smell like Shinji a bit, you've been close to him and he and Jaya have explained who Lim-Dul is, right?] Serray asked; Rei nodded. Until the Black Carriage arrived, Serray explained whatever she could to Rei and assured her that Lore had gotten to Shinji or back to Joven who would defiantly take the information to Shinji and Urza [The boy has an unwavering loyalty to those he cares for] Serray paused and sniffed Rei again [, And as I said before, you smell of him in a loving way] the ferret said and grinned, an odd sight for Rei having never seen a rodent do that before. Approaching was a carriage. Inside it was Lim-Dul's most powerful minion Baron Sengir; a powerful mage with power of the most powerful warriors of darkness: Vampires, he was their supreme commander aside from Lim-Dul.  
  
Veer got up as he heard the whinny of horses and the cracking of twigs under wheels of a carriage, a Black Carriage of Lim-Dul, he stood as the carriage stopped and its door opened to reveal the one and only Baron Sengir of Phyrexia, several others on horses were there, they were Lim- Dul's Cohorts "Have you got the girl?" he asked, Rei shuddered at his voice, it was like sandpaper scraping against her nerves, Veer roughly picked her up and threw her into the carriage "I'll leave ti up to you to work out where she is" he said sarcastically as the sneering warlord gave Veer his commission for getting her "Say hi to my brother, Sengir" the Viashino said before mounting his drake and flying back to Sut'Aqa for some rest. On the way there he decided to fly over the Aurora mountains just to see the place again, unaware that a lot of people were angered with Rei's kidnapping, so were some certain creatures, namely Firestar and Blazewing who were out flying and saw Veer "Lets get him" Firestar said and dove for Veer, while Blazewing took out the drake "Let me go you stupid beast" Veer said, Blazewing grabbed him in her fore claw "Don't tempt me" she growled and flew back to Urza's castle with one brick shitting Viashino in her grasp and a very nasty tempered Griffin in pursuit. Urza was waiting for them as word of the capture had reached the castle via telepathy from Blazewing to Seero, as Veer saw who was waiting for him, he wasn't sure if he should be more afraid of what Lim-Dul would do to him about talking, or what Shinji would most likely do about his silence [I'm fucked now] he thought as Blazewing dropped him on the ground in front of Urza, Shinji and a now arrested Ihsan "Your friend here was kind enough to drop you in it" Jaya said "Well who dropped him in it then?" Veer spat, Chandler and Joven strode into view "We saw the good captain and you conversing at the Inn a couple of days ago, and we decided to pay Joskun a visit and tell him you were in town" Joven said, Veer went to try and grab Joven before realising his mistake, Shinji had a good tight grip on the Viashino's throat and lightning began cracking from his eyes and other hand and he drew back a fistful of the deadly element "You have three seconds to tell me who has her and where she is being taken" he said, Karen looked on in amusement as the giant lizard man began shaking under the threat of a smaller (but more powerful) human "Baron Sengir has her" Veer started, Shinji dropped him in shock "And he is taking her to Lim-Dul's castle in Phyrexia. You're going to need an army to get her back", he jeered from the ground "Maja, take our friend here and put him in the dungeon, with his friend Ihsan. The Inquisitors will be around to get Ihsan later; then the Royal Guard will take our scaly friend here to Kjeldor where he will be tried" Urza said, Veer was dragged away, leaving a despairing Shinji kneeling on the ground in misery.  
  
Rei woke up while being bounced around in a very uncomfortable manner, she looked ahead and saw the most fearsome looking man she'd ever seen; he had a long black braid of hair on his otherwise bald head and wore a long black and gold robe and had talon like fingers on his hand "Hello my dear. My name is Sengir and I am your captor. You are being taken to Lim-Dul, and if your friends do not hand over the Evangelions, we shall kill you" he said in a soft but loathsome voice, it caused her to shudder again. After an hour on a road which Rei found out was made of bones, they arrived at the castle of Lim-Dul and Rei was dragged before him "What do you want?" she cried out "We want the Evangelions dear girl, and you're going to get them for me" Lim-Dul said, Rei narrowed her eyes at him in rage, and for a brief second, Lim-Dul felt the presence of a great power in the room, as did Sengir, before she collapsed to the ground and wept "I don't belong here, I want to go home" she sobbed "Varr, put her in the guest chambers" Lim-Dul said in a mocking and sarcastic way, the Viashino did as he was told. As soon as the doors shut, Lim-Dul turned to Sengir "You felt that too?" Sengir asked, Lim-Dul nodded "She is dangerous master, kill her now and just take the machines when they are brought here" Sengir said, Lim-Dul shook his head "No, we shall kill her in front of Ikari and make him suffer loss like he has never suffered before" he said and laughed loudly and evilly. Varr threw her into a room after taking the sack off her; several other people were there "You will stay here until the machines are delivered to us, then you will die" he said and closed the door, Rei propped herself up against the wall, a few seconds later a familiar creature appeared [Serray, I thought you were gone] she said, the ferret shook her head [No, I hid and followed you, take heart Rei, Shinji will be here] she said, Rei hugged the ferret close to her "I've never been so scared in my life" Rei sobbed as Serray reassured her.  
  
  
  
Mage part 3: The Gathering  
  
  
  
Shinji's arm hade healed and now he was looked at the people who were going to storm the castle in Phyrexia [No, this time I must go alone, this is my fault and I will save her, besides, the rift will be here soon, the others will get the idea and go back through the rift] he thought and went down to the armourer "Have you done what I asked Gori?" he asked the Dwarf, the stout warrior and weapons smith handed Shinji his plug suit, with a few slight modifications; the arms and legs were baggier and the chest was more solid, as Shinji got into it, Gori brought out the other attachments "Here are the gauntlets, the boots, belt, chest, shoulder and back protectors" he said and helped him put them on. When that was done, Gori gave Shinji a mantle with two long stalks on the side, they were his nerve links encased in Soldevi steel "This was hard to do kid, Rei must be really worth it" Gori said, "She is" he said and turned around and to his shock, he saw all the other pilots: each was dressed similarly to him "What's going on?" he asked, Jeff stepped forward "We're going with you" he said, Shinji shook his head "No, this is my personal mission, Rei is my-" he was cut off "She's our friend now too, and an Eva pilot, show him Gori" Karen said, Shinji turned and saw Rei's plug suit in the Dwarf's hand along with the armoured parts in a net bag "We can set Unit 0 to follow us to the borders, stop it there. Then we go forth, bust down the castle, get Rei and bring her to Unit 0, then we hightail it out of here and go the hell home" Min said, Shinji started to protest "Don't start man, you may be a mage or whatever, but we are all Eva pilots and they fuck with one of us, they fuck with all of us" Jean-Luc said, Shinji realised he was defeated on the subject and smiled [My friends, my family] he thought, as if reading his mind, Karen stepped forward "I know you love her Shinji, but we are a family, and families look out for each other right?" she said, he nodded, the others put their hands on each others, Shinji and Karen joined in "Lets go" he said.  
  
The five young warriors walked proudly down the halls of Urza's castle to where the Evas were, each one was wearing their game face and they meant business. Knights of Stromglad, Kjeldoran Royal Guards, Serra Paladins and Serra Inquisitors watched them go and cheered as they boarded the Evas "Lets go and kill this turd" Jeff said "I am all ears brother" Jean-Luc said as the entry plugs twisted into position, the crowd in the village cheered in awe as the titan machines rose to walk and then break into a run as they were clear of civilisation "We're coming Rei, we're coming" Karen said. Five minutes later, they arrived at the borders of Phyrexia; Min stopped Unit 0 from following them across to the battle zone "Okay, lets rock" Karen said and they all threw their Evas in to full throttle, each one readied a weapon of some kind as they charged to rescue their stricken friend. Lim-Dul was eating his dinner (a disgusting sight if ever you can imagine it) with Sengir and Varr "Has the girl shown any more spark or other magic powers" Lim-Dul asked Varr "No, although I do believe there is magic inside her, it isn't very strong" he said, Sengir raised his wine goblet [Say that all you want fool, but she is the one, I feel it in my bones, that pale girl, Ikari's concubine is the manifestation] he thought with grim anger, the reason being that although Lim-Dul was the most powerful of the Necromancers, Sengir was the oldest of them all, so old in fact that he had seen Serra herself and felt what her magical powers were like, and they were very powerful, and although he had not sensed the same level of power, it had the same 'feel' about it when the girl got scared and angry. Sengir was about to protest what Varr said when a messenger appeared and he looked like the hordes of Balduvia were chasing him "Sir, it's the Evas, they are coming" he said, before Lim-Dul could say 'I told you so' to Sengir, he added "They are in war stance", Sengir smirked at the Lim-Dul's shock.  
  
The Evas stopped a few feet short of the Phyrexian border, Min recommended using a special program that would allow the Evas to keep their A.T. fields up until a verbal command from the pilot was issued. After each of them imputed the program into the Eva's onboard computer and disembarked, the pilots were on the war march and each had been given a special weapon by Urza and the other pilots had been given some basic training in spell casting, the special weapons were as follows: Shinji had the Runesword, Karen had the Sword of the Ages, Jeff had the Celestial Sword, Min had a crossbow which fired Serrated Arrows and Jean-Luc wore the Gauntlets of Chaos. They met their first opponent about a mile inland; Irini Sengir "You will not pass" she declared and flared up some magic, Jeff stepped forward with his sword "You guys go ahead, I imagine that an opponent like this will be waiting for all of us along the way" he said and readied his sword, as the others attempted to pass, Irini stopped them, or at least tried to as Jeff nearly cut her head off "No you don't" he said and swung again, this time Irini brought her own sword into play and blocked the blow, but this allowed the others to escape and move on. The group reached the town below Urza's castle on Mount Zombar, home the Necromancers for centuries, again their way was barred, this time by the soldiers of Lim- Dul, lead by none other than Varr "Long time no see Varr, hows the arm?" Shinji asked, causing the lizard man to snarl at him as he drew his sword, this time Karen stepped forth "Come on then lizard lips, lets rock" she said and leapt into battle but Varr fled soon after she scored a hit on his armoured chest while the others fought the Drudge Skeletons that comprised the bulk of Lim-Dul's armies, but each time they killed one, Lim-Dul would draw power from the many swamps, bogs and marshes in his domain to regenerate the dead soldiers "We're in shit" Min said, but then salvation came; a whole army of the Order of Leitbur, White Knights, Serra Paladins and Northern Paladins came charging down the hills, Jeff was with them, he approached his friends "Look who the cat dragged in" Min said "Karen, Shinji; go and get Rei, we will handle things here" Jean-Luc said, kicking a Drudge Skeleton in the chest as he spoke, the two ran off and left as they were asked to, both were on their way to their destiny, and to meet someone who's own was about to come about.  
  
Sengir stood up and called his best troops before him; his Sengir Vampires "The boy and someone else are coming, it is your duty not to let them in at all costs even your pathetic lives, am I clear?" he asked, the creatures chattered at him, their way of saying 'yes master', Lim-Dul had gone to get Rei from her holding cell, [If Ikari is intent on not giving me the Evas, he will suffer a loss so great he will crumble on the inside] he thought as he drew near to the cell and flung it open; Rei was asleep on the floor, he grabbed her and she woke up "Put me down" she screamed at Lim-Dul, who promptly dragged her back to the main hall, Shinji and Karen were there, swatting down the vampires like flies at a barbeque, Shinji saw Rei and immediately brought his magic into play and destroyed the vampires "Wrath of God" he said and a white field shot from his body, destroying every creature soldier n the castle, Sengir and Lim-Dul were the only ones left, each one picked a side of the room to go to "You take Lim-Dul and I'll take fang boy over there" Karen said "I was thinking the same thing" Shinji replied and they advanced on their respective targets. Sengir was a tough nut to crack and every blow Karen landed with the sword seemed only to annoy the vampire king, then she remembered something she'd once seen in a movie and whipped out her crucifix (being a devout Roman Catholic) and held it at the lord, nothing happened, then her sword glowed white and shot a beam directly into Sengir's heart, destroying it and him "This cannot be" he mumbled before dying. Lim-Dul and Shinji were still fighting "What did you want her for Lim-Dul, Rei is an innocent who didn't know this place existed until three days ago, were you to much of coward to come and get me yourself?" he asked as they shoved away from each other "No. Sengir said something to me that I didn't believe until now; she is the incarnation of Serra, my dear boy" he said and smiled as Shinji's sword fell limp and he looked at the girl he loved, [Is she truly the one, is she Serra reborn?] he wondered.  
  
After some contemplation he turned back to Lim-Dul "I don't care, if she is Serra then so be it, but it is still my duty to protect her and I will, regardless of who she is because I love her, a concept you would never understand Lim-Dul, it is what made us stronger than you, what will keep us stronger than you and what is stronger than you" he said and charged at the Necromancer, sword and eyes blazing with love and fury, love for Rei and fury at Lim-Dul for hurting her, but the sneaky mage had planned this confrontation well in advance and used a spell to move himself from his path and nearer to Rei, Lim-Dul held a weapon to her, but before it hit her, as it was a spear, Shinji moved in front of it, it ran him through the heart, Rei broke into a run "SHINJI!" she cried and knelt beside him "Why did you do that?" she asked, he smiled painfully "Because I felt I had to and because I love you" was his simple answer, then his heart stopped, breathing ceased and blood ran cold: Shinji Ikari, warrior, wizard and child was dead, Rei began shuddering in rage, she clenched her fists and looked at Lim-Dul, both he and Karen looked at her in fear, Karen had seen nicer faces in morgues and before Lim-Dul could say anything, Rei began to glow ethereally, her robe stretched out to become an almost blinding white with gold stripes down the front, back and arms while a light blue circle adorned the centre of the robe and as if by divine decree, she grew wings of golden feathers and landed, her hair was now as gold and her eyes a sky blue "Hello Lim-Dul. You know who I am no doubt but for the sake of newcomers I shall introduce myself, I am Serra, well, her spirit inside this girls body, she is kind, unselfish and true, everything I was before I died and now I am here to put Dominia back to the way it was before your filthy influence ever existed, by employing the spell I have been developing for many eons. SERRA'S JUDGEMENT" she cried and lifted her arms and head to the heavens and yet another white glow surrounded them.  
  
Back in the Aurora mountains, Blazewing, Firestar, Urza, Jaya, Mishra (Urza's brother), Seero and many others watched as the light came closer "And with light brighter than sun she shall subdue the evil in the land, allowing peace to flourish" Jaya said, they all looked at her "Yay, so it be niece, so it be" Mishra said, the light engulfed them and all was silent. The spirit of Serra left Rei's body and appeared to Urza and his kin "Have you destroyed all evil?" Mishra asked; the spirit shook her head "No, that would be impossible. Good cannot exist without evil; I have merely subdued it for a time, it will rise again, for that is inevitable, the battle between the light and the darkness, good or evil what ever you wish to call it will last forever, neither will win and neither will lose, it will simply be a war which is never won" she said and for another hundred millennia, disappeared from the plane of the living on Dominia. Rei woke up in a bed, a comfortable one at that, her head was fuzzy, and all her bones and muscles ached like hell "Who got the license of that Eva?" she said, "Rei, you're awake", Rei looked up and saw Min, her eye was covered over and her leg was in a bandage, Rei got up and nearly collapsed from her hunger "Food, I need food" she said, Min, as best she could, helped Rei to the dining area, where all the people she knew were waiting for her "What happened?' she asked, Jaya stood up "Rei Ayanami, we owe you our lives, you may find it hard to remember, but it was you who defeated Lim-Dul for you were the incarnation of Serra in this time of need; you and her worked together with the purity of your hearts and souls to defeat Lim- Dul and kill him, Dominia may now look forward to many years of peace" she said, Urza also stood "Although Lim-Dul was destroyed, evil can never die, like good, one cannot be with out the other, but thank you anyway" he said, Rei looked at all the other pilots, some were sporting serious injuries, broken legs, ribs, in Karen's case and many other such things "Where's Shinji?" Rei asked, Mishra smiled and pointed to an Elvish Druid who was administering medicine to the boy in question, Rei went over to him and sat down.  
  
Shinji woke up to see Rei "If this is a dream I don't want to wake up and if I'm dead I'm in heaven with an angel" he said and groaned at his stitched up chest and side "You took a nasty slash there, and near your heart dear boy, in fact you were dead, but Serra brought you back to life" the Druid said as he packed his herbs "I'd thank her if she were here" he said "Well go one then, she's leaning over your bed now" Urza said, Shinji's eyes widened as he remembered what Lim-Dul said "Well then, thank you Rei" he said, she smiled and kissed him "Your welcome" she said to him during the kiss. After a few hours had gone by, a messenger came in "Sir, its the vortex that will return our friends to their home" he said, the pilots all gasped in joy "We can go home" Jeff said and whooped for joy "We should get inside the Evangelions to go through the vortex" Min pointed out, and it was agreed, each of them took with them a treasure trove of memories that would last a lifetime of telling, and they all got some basic magic training and their robes and new plug suits were a good bonus too. Shinji was very carefully placed in the entry plug of Unit 1, Rei donned her new plug suit, and with that; Karen, Jeff, Min and Jean-Luc all joined their hands with Rei and Shinji so they would go through the vortex together, Shinji said all his goodbyes to his family, and although he was sad for leaving them, he knew he had one on earth too, Misato, Asuka and all the other pilots, especially Rei, were his family, and Rei was even more than that now "Farewell all, you shall always have a home here in our house on this world" Urza said as almost all of the followers of Serra saw them off back to earth. ************************************************************************ Japan  
  
As before, the rip appeared but this time is reared its head in Tokyo 3, and the ground shuddered and ruptured with its coming, Ritsuko was at the main Nerv base, coordinating the examination of the anomaly "The readings are the same as those recorded in New York 2 ma'am, all off the scale and totally unusable" Maya said, she looked out across the evacuated city and hoped it was evacuated so a crash landing Eva wouldn't hurt anyone, the staff were about to give up on ever seeing the Evas or their young pilots again when a reading came through "An Evangelion signature doctor, its originating from the vortex" Hyuga said and grinned as the six giant war machines came crashing down to the ground. There was dead silence for a few seconds before a radio call came in "Mayday, mayday this is Eva unit 4 calling Nerv, anyone home. We all need medical assistance and Shinji requires it urgently" Jean-Luc called over the radio, a loud cheering was heard in Nerv headquarters from its entire staff "ALL RESCUE TEAMS SCRAMBLE NOW. INFIRMARY, HAVE ALL DEPARTMENTS ON STANDBY" Ritsuko yelled in glee. After further twenty or so minutes, Misato, Asuka and Hikari showed up at the Nerv hospital "Are Shinji or Rei awake?" she asked, almost hysterical, a trembling matron pointed to a room with Ikari and Ayanami written on it, the trio sprinted and nearly battered down the door; both children were awake, Misato grabbed Shinji in a bear hug "Hey, watch the stitching" he said, Misato then went and gave Rei an equally strong embrace, the they all sat down on some chairs "Well, we want details guys and I am willing to sit here all night to get them if I have to" Misato said, Hikari and Asuka echoed her sentiments "Well, it all started when." Shinji began telling a tale that would be a favourite for the children he and Rei would have later in life, and a tale that bound six people so close together they became a family.  
  
  
  
The End 


End file.
